Hating You
by Squit Ayumin
Summary: [Discontinued] The lives of four teenagers change when they are forced to spend every waking moment with the ones they most despise. Takari, Ryuki.
1. I Hate You

For previous readers: As you'll be able to tell, I've changed this story immensely. My poor writing style back then was far too embarrassing to not do anything about it.

For new readers: I wrote this back in March 2003, and it is rather terrible. I have tried to make amends in this new edition, but this is essentially a story that I don't like but keep up because I know there were readers who once enjoyed it. I would definitely recommend my other stories over this one.

Rated T for cursing. AU, OOC. Takari & Ryuki.

_Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon._

**Hating You  
**Squit Ayumin

**Chapter 1: I Hate You**

"Here you go, Kari. You like chocolate, right?"

It was a beautiful summer day. Hot yet breezy, it was the kind of day perfect for eating ice cream at the park. No school, no worries—nothing but nature and a sweet cone of soft serve.

Eight-year-old Takeru Takaishi handed his best friend an ice cream cone, a cute grin illuminating his young face. She happily nodded in response to his question and accepted the treat. "Yes! Thank you!"

His smile widened, and he sat down beside her on the dry grass. "You do know vanilla is better, right?"

The warming sun, a refreshing breeze, her best friend and her favourite dessert.

Days like these were blissful and—

"My live is a living hell."

Suddenly, it was eight years later. Kari Kamiya refocused her mind to the present, tucking past memories away once again. Before responding to the intruding comment, she glanced over to where he was.

A few metres away was her former best friend. He was taller, older and a completely different person. Ever since he made the school basketball team in Year Eight, he had changed. Everybody wanted to be his friend. Every girl wanted to have him. Every guy wanted to be like him. And he, naïve enough to get sucked into this newfound popularity, fell for it—hard. Rapidly, they began to drift apart. From being inseparable to having occasional conversations to waving polite greetings, they finally concluded in no longer acknowledging each other. Even his name was different; he went by TK now.

But that was the past, and this was the present. Presently, she was seated in the school cafeteria, her homemade lunch sprawled on a semi-empty table.

A tray landed beside her, and a redheaded girl sat down, grumbling beneath her breath.

It was her new best friend, Rika Makino. She had transferred over to Odaiba High School from Shinjuku around the same time Kari had stopped talking to TK, and under their individual friendless situations, they had became friends.

Unlike how TK and she had been, Kari and Rika were very different people. Rika was easily irritated—especially by people. She didn't pause to speak her mind about others, often leading her into trouble. Kari, on the other hand, was fairly quiet and kept to herself.

Regardless of their personality differences, they maintained a close friendship.

"Is everything all right?"

"Perfect," Rika muttered, indicating that everything was not perfect.

Kari had learned long ago not to further pursue Rika to reveal anything she didn't say the first time. As outspoken as Rika was, she was fairly private.

Instead, she changed the topic. "How do you think you did on that Calculus test?"

From Rika's reaction, Kari concluded Rika's source of irritation came from said Calculus test.

"Are you girls talking about the Calculus test?" From the table beside them—TK's table—one girl turned around to face them. She flipped back her long brunette locks and purred, "It was _so_ easy. Don't you agree, Rika?"

Hina Itou was the epitome of perfection. Gifted with gorgeous physical features, as well as intellectual capability and social skills, Hina easily got everything she wanted.

For that, Rika despised her. From the moment they had met, she had made it clear. Hina, not used to people disliking her, was automatically offended. In a sense, their hatred was Rika's fault, but they had both passed a point of no return, and it really didn't matter who had started the disagreements.

Kari personally did not have a problem with Hina anymore. Being TK's first girlfriend, she had been one of the chief causes of TK's and her estranged friendship. Still, Hina never showed Kari the same amount of animosity as she did Rika. Simply, Hina left her alone, and Kari left Hina alone.

"Why are you listening to our conversation?" Rika asked icily.

"Why are you avoiding my question?" Hina retaliated, her golden amber eyes just as frosty. She gave her a fake smile. "Actions speak louder than words, honey, and by the look on your face, I already know the answer. Better luck next time then, hm?"

She turned around again, giggling with her friends.

Kari looked at Rika piteously. "I'm sure you'll do better next time."

"You'd think she has better things to do than harass me," Rika muttered, dully poking at her food.

* * *

Rika had approximately forty seconds to make it to her class on time.

It wasn't going to happen.

Panicking, she furiously ran up a flight of stairs, mentally screaming at her accursed locker for never opening on the first try.

Another tardy meant another day in after-school detention. That was the last thing she needed right now.

Finally reaching the top step, she sprinted down the hallway, made a sharp left turn—and crashed. As if she had run into a mirror, she and another being knocked into each other and onto the floor in the same fashion. Both their bags opened, their contents scattering randomly.

Rika let out a frustrated groan before snapping, "Watch where you're going!"

At the same time, the other person exclaimed, "I'm so sorry!"

His apologetic expression changed in hearing her response to the impact.

"_Excuse_ me?" he asked, clearly offended.

Rika looked up to see herself face-to-face with Ryo Akiyama, self-proclaimed king of the school. She didn't actually _know_ him personally, but she did know _of_ him. From Kari, she knew he was TK Takaishi's best friend and Hina Itou's ex-boyfriend. From everybody else, she heard nothing but praise. Tall, handsome, charming…

She didn't like him much. He sounded like the male equivalent of Hina Itou—and a real dumbass to have dated someone like her.

The bell rang.

Rika let out another groan. "Great job! Now I'm late!"

Clearly, the incident was her fault. She had been making a turn, running; he had been walking in a straight line. He knew it. She knew it.

She didn't care.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but this is your fault," he said, standing up. He reached an arm to assist her.

Out of anger, she slapped it away. "I know how to stand up by myself. Piss off!"

His eyes narrowed, but, instead of saying anything, he dropped back to the floor and began to pick up his things. She followed suit. He picked up a book of hers and handed it to her.

She seized it and hissed, "I just said I don't need your help. That extends to picking up my stuff!"

Ryo looked ready to kill her. "I'm trying to be nice."

"Stop trying then." As she was picking up pens and pencils, she came across a pen that wasn't hers. Annoyed, she tossed it aside.

"What are you doing?" he shouted. "Stop throwing my stuff around!"

She didn't respond, not bothering to even look up to see his expression. She could easily guess it without doing so.

Once again, she didn't care that she was being uncooperative. The thought of another day's worth of detention was far too frustrating.

For the remainder of the moments they spent picking up their respective belongings, they worked in silence.

She finished first and stood up. "Watch where you're going next time."

Without waiting for a response, she stormed away.

She had walked approximately four steps before she felt a hard jerk pull her back.

Her eyes met his. They were narrowed, flashing cerulean rays of hatred at her.

"I'd watch who you say such threats to," he said coldly.

Rika looked straight back at him, not intimidated. "Likewise."

He gave her another glare before letting her go abruptly, muttering under his breath as he too walked away. Rika watched him, annoyed, before she remembered her tardiness and sprinted once again towards her class.

* * *

Kari nearly gasped as she turned around to match eyes with who had just tapped her on the shoulder.

TK Takaishi was looking at her, a slightly troubled look on his usually flawless face.

"Take—TK," Kari stuttered awkwardly. "How…how are you?"

This was the first time either of them had acknowledged the existence of the other in years. Kari couldn't help but feel a little stupefied.

"I'm all right," he answered.

A pause.

"How are you?" he added.

"I'm well."

Another painful pause.

TK cleared his throat. "My mum told me this morning that she invited your family to my house for dinner tonight."

"Oh," Kari replied, not knowing what else to say. "That's… good to know."

He glanced behind her, and she could tell he was feeling just as awkward as she was.

"This is kind of weird to say…" he started, fumbling with the strap of his backpack.

"What is it?" she asked gently, trying unsuccessfully to ease the tension.

"Look, I don't really mind that you and your family are coming over, but I actually have a really important game coming up. We're holding a late-night practice around the same time, and as captain of the basketball team, I'm expected to be there." TK paused, as if waiting for Kari to allow all of this information to sink in. "If there's any way you can try to leave a little early…"

Kari frowned. "What?"

"Well, er, it isn't like we're friends, so we really don't have anything to say to each other." TK shrugged. "I'm sure you don't want to be forced to reminisce or catch up either, so let's both try to get out as quickly as possible. You probably have better things to do too."

Kari felt herself get angrier. "I'll try my hardest."

He didn't reply for a while, but he finally gave a small, satisfied smile. "So I guess I'll see you tonight then."

"Goodbye," Kari said quickly, wanting him to leave. He took the hint and turned around, but after a few steps faced her again.

"Oh, I forgot to ask for another favour."

"What," Kari asked rather rudely.

"I don't want our parents to think badly of us, so let's try to be as amiable as we can." TK's expression showed no sign of compassion. "Let them think we're still good friends."

Kari didn't reply, even more offended.

He looked at her, looking a little uncomfortable.

"Well then, bye," he said finally. With that, he jogged away to his friends. His true smile and comfort returned as he began conversing with him.

Kari felt her lips twist into a frown.

Yes, he had definitely changed.

* * *

"Higher, boys. I can't see you through the window."

Ryo angrily raised his school briefcase higher over his head, prompting his teacher to head back into the classroom.

Having been late for class, he was now on his knees in the hallway, holding his heavy briefcase in the air.

"This sucks," muttered his classmate, Kenta Kitagawa. He too had been late to class. "My arms are about to fall off."

"Stop complaining. It's _your_ fault, after all," responded Kenta's best mate, Kazu Shiota.

"How is this _my_ fault? You're the one who made me stand in line with you because you just _had_ to have a biscuit!"

"You should have told me we would be late!"

"I did!"

"You should have told me you were serious!"

"I did!"

"Could both of you be quiet? We're going to get in even more trouble!" Ryo snapped, sounding angrier than he had intended. After the incident in the hallway, he was not in the best of moods.

They immediately silenced themselves. Kazu and Kenta—especially Kazu—worshipped Ryo. They did anything he asked.

They sat in tense silence for a few seconds before Kenta finally said, almost whispering, "Why were you late, Ryo?"

Ryo didn't answer, not wanting to think about the unbelievable girl he had run into.

"Shut up, Kenta," Kazu immediately scolded. "Obviously, he doesn't want to talk to you." Kazu turned to face Ryo, smiling, and changed the subject. "So Ryo, where are you planning to go for the winter holiday? Probably out of the country."

"Yes, where?" Kenta added, now facing Ryo as well. "Somewhere in the southern hemisphere to get away from this weather?"

As annoying as they could be, Ryo felt bad they liked him a lot more than he liked them. "I think I'm just staying in Odaiba."

They looked shocked.

"B…but it's—"

They immediately shut their mouths and scrambled to their positions as they heard the classroom door open once again.

Ryo, Kazu and Kenta all relaxed once they saw Hina Itou walk out.

"Hi Hina," Kazu greeted, staring at her lovingly.

She disregarded him and squat beside them to hide her head from the teacher. "Ryo, you're never late. What happened?"

"Where are you going?" he answered.

"Toilet," she responded. Adamantly, she asked again, "Why were you late?"

"No reason," he avoided, trying hard to relieve his arms of the weight of the bag without the teacher noticing.

Hina furrowed her brows. "Why are you being so secretive?"

"I'm not," Ryo said irritably.

"Hel-_lo_."

Everybody faced Kazu, who had been the source of the flirtatious greeting.

Then they changed their shifts to the person he had greeted.

"Ew," muttered Hina.

"You!" Ryo exclaimed, a little too loudly.

Hina jolted her head to Ryo's direction before shooting a glare at the being walking closer to them.

The redheaded girl from before slowed down a little as she saw them.

"Hello," Kazu greeted again, a wide grin on his face.

Hina gave him a disgusted look before turning to the girl. "Rika, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in class?"

"Why do you care?" Rika asked, just as rudely.

Ryo noted the animosity, and he was somewhat glad that Hina didn't seem to like this Rika girl either. He could relieve his agitation to her later.

Evidently, Kazu didn't. "Are you guys friends? Hina, you never introduced me to your beautiful friend!"

"She is not my friend!" Hina said loudly, looking very much distraught at Kazu's comment. "You stupid oaf!"

"You're the reason I'm out here!" Ryo added loudly, trying to get her attention.

"Shh!" Kenta hissed. "You both are going to get us into more trouble!"

The girl looked at Ryo for a brief second.

"You _know_ her?" Hina asked incredulously.

"Erm…" Kenta said quietly. "Rika, did you say it is? Will you please squat so our teacher doesn't see you?"

Rika gave Kenta a weird look before walking away, not saying another word.

"She's disgusting," Hina muttered.

"She's hot," Kazu disagreed.

"Ryo, don't you think she's disgusting?" Hina asked, tugging at his blazer lapel.

Ryo simply glared at the direction she had headed. So Rika was her name…

He would remember that.

* * *

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	2. Arrangements

**Hating You  
**Squit Ayumin

**Chapter 2: Arrangements**

Kari stared at her reflection in horror. "Mum! I can't wear this!"

Her school uniform was replaced by a light pink dress, matching heels, a simple silver necklace and silver drop earrings. As minimalistic the outfit was, she felt extremely overdressed.

"What are you talking about?" her mother asked, fixing Kari's hair up. "You look very pretty!"

"Mum! I look like I'm trying to impress him!"

"What's wrong with that?" Mrs Kamiya finished her daughter's hair. "TK will think he's a very lucky young man."

"Why would he think—Mum!"

Suddenly, the door opened and a familiar face walked in, though they hadn't seen him since he had left for his second semester at university. "Hey Mum. Hey Kari. Sorry I didn't knock."

"Oh, Tai!" Mrs Kamiya left Kari's side to hug her son. "Oh, my goodness! You've become so big!"

"Hi Mum," Tai replied, half as enthusiastically. He smiled and waved his hand at his younger sister through their mum's hug.

"Kari, look how handsome your brother looks! My, how quickly you've matured!" Mrs Kamiya was still hugging Tai's head. "How is university life?"

"It's all right," Tai answered vaguely.

Mrs Kamiya gave Tai another tight hug before ushering him towards the door again. "That's very nice, Tai. Now, go to your room and change. I laid out what you need to wear tonight."

"But Dad and I were about to watch the game," Tai protested.

"You can watch it once you change! Tonight is a very important night for your sister! We're going to the Takaishis."

Tai looked at Kari and smiled smugly. "You look nice, Kari."

Kari frowned. "Tai, tell Mum I look like a five-year-old princess."

Mrs Kamiya frowned at her children.

"I think you look very pretty," Tai said obediently before leaving to go to his room.

"Mum, what did you mean when you said this is an important night for—"

Mrs Kamiya sighed dreamily. "Why am I blessed with the most handsome son and the most beautiful daughter?" She pondered for a moment and walked to Kari again. "Now, how should we do your makeup, dear?"

"Mum!"

* * *

"TK, is Matt here?" Tai asked good-naturedly, finally breaking the awkward silence between the Kamiya family and the youngest member of the Takaishi household.

"Y…yeah, he's around…" TK looked very flustered at the sight of them, his cheeks slightly coloured from embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I didn't realise it was such a formal dinner…"

Kari wished deeply she could turn invisible. She was in a dress. Her mum was in a dress even more formal than hers. Her father was wearing a suit. Tai had refused the suit jacket, but he too was pretty formal.

TK was wearing a t-shirt and basketball shorts, and his hair was wet.

She had never felt so stupid in her life.

"Come in, Mr and Mrs Kamiya," he said politely, stepping aside to let them in. "Hi Tai… Hi Kari…"

Kari was embarrassed again that he was forced to say her name.

"Ah, hello."

The quintet looked to see TK's older brother and Tai's friend, Matt standing before them, his outfit also fairly dressy.

Kari thought that, despite being brothers, Matt and TK's similarities ended with their blond hair and sapphire eyes. Matt was slightly more attractive—irresistible even. Their personalities were both rather serious, but TK tended not to be as moody as his brother. Matt was a musician, his impressive abilities ranging from harmonica to voice to bass guitar. TK was an athlete, basketball nearly engulfing his life the way soccer engulfed Tai's. TK also had more friends, as Matt wasn't quick to socialise with people he didn't know.

"It's been a long time," Matt said, smiling at the guests.

"Oh my!" Mrs Kamiya exclaimed, looking at the brothers. "You two have become so handsome! Kari, will you look at them? Aren't they so handsome?"

Kari wanted to die.

Tai grinned, clearly enjoying their discomfort. "Yeah, Kari, aren't Matt and TK the cutest?"

Matt shot Tai a look that Kari was thankful for.

"You two just keep looking more and more alike!" she added, taking them into a hug. "You two are practically twins!"

Matt looked troubled, as if offended.

TK noticed Matt's reaction and grew offended.

"I bet you two just get all the girls!" she continued to gush. "Kari, tell me. Does TK get—"

"How's uni life, Matt?" Kari interrupted.

Matt shrugged. "It's all right."

"I'll just, erm, get my mum and dad," TK announced quickly before disappearing inside.

* * *

"Mum!" TK hissed, walking into the kitchen. "You didn't tell me I had to dress up!"

"Peel this for me, will you, honey?" Ms Takaishi asked, handing her son a potato and a knife.

"Mum!"

Ms Takaishi quickly wiped her hands on her apron. "I'm sorry, son. I thought I had told you. Besides, didn't you see me, your father, and your brother all dressed like this?"

"No."

"Hm, I thought I asked Matt to tell you…" Ms Takaishi shrugged and put more potatoes in front of TK. "You can change later. The Kamiyas will be here soon, and—"

"There's already here," TK said dully, picking at the potato. "Didn't you hear the doorbell?"

"They're here?" Ms Takaishi exclaimed. "Hiroaki, why didn't you tell me the doorbell rang? TK, hurry up and get changed! Give those to your father." She quickly took off her apron and threw it aside. "Oh dear, I hope I don't smell too much like food."

"Mum, I have to go to basketball practice—"

"Thank you, honey. I love you," Ms Takaishi responded, kissing her son on the forehead before dashing out of the kitchen.

TK frowned as he gave his partially peeled potato and knife to his dad. "Dad, what's going on?"

"I'll be damned if I know," Mr Ishida growled, picking at his potato unskilfully.

* * *

"I brought a video camera!" Tai announced happily.

"What a wonderful idea, Tai!" Ms Takaishi exclaimed. "You're such a thoughtful older brother!"

Tai nodded proudly before turning the recorder on and focusing it on TK's face. "TK, why do you look like you have somewhere else to be?"

Everybody turned his or her attention to TK, who had been slouching by the wall, staring at the clock and tapping his finger against his elbow.

TK, as it was widely known amongst the teenagers present, hated when adults thought badly of him, so he had a habit to appear as gentlemanly and perfect as possible around them.

He looked alarmed and flushed, immediately standing a little straighter. "Did I look like that? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

That seemed like a sufficient answer to everyone, who resumed normal conversation. TK, on the other hand, looked ready to murder someone.

"Stop looking like your brother." Tai had gotten up and was now nudging TK on the side. "It's not a pretty look."

Matt and TK scowled as Tai smiled and turned the recorder to them. "So, Takaishi-Ishida brothers. How are you feeling tonight?"

"Fine," came Matt's cold answer.

TK just turned away to face their parents, deciding to listen in on their conversation rather than deal with Tai's twisted form of entertainment.

"…And TK is just so talented in the kitchen! He helps me all the time. As a matter of fact, he was just helping me prepare dinner before you arrived!" Ms Takaishi gushed. "He's also very clean and considerate. He tries to do the dishes before I come home, and he likes to do laundry. Why, just the other day…"

TK frowned—in his mind. His mother was once again making him sound like a maid.

"Wow!" Mrs Kamiya smiled at TK. "I hear from Kari you're on the basketball team. Perhaps one day you can teach Kari how to play. She's always wanted to learn, and the two of you are such good friends."

Kari looked up, alarmed.

She had never, _ever_ said that.

TK looked at her, puzzled, before smiling. "I'd be more than happy to teach her."

"Don't you guys have a basketball court outside?" Tai asked, grinning evilly. "TK, you could teach her right now!"

"What an excellent idea!" Mrs Kamiya beamed. She shook Kari's shoulder excitedly. "Kari, isn't that a fantastic idea?"

TK's smile faded for a second. "Erm, I don't really think we should just leave to play some pointless game. It's rude, and dinner won't—"

"Dinner doesn't start for a while," Ms Takaishi interrupted, checking the clock.

"But Kari's wearing such a pretty dress!" TK tried, looking at Kari for help.

"Yeah," Kari mumbled dully.

"TK, you should lend her some clothes," Tai suggested, enjoying his game more by the second. "You have a closet full of them."

* * *

"Look how cute they are," Tai teased, pointing his camera towards them. "Smile guys! TK, look over here!"

"Leave him alone, Tai," Matt said irritably.

"I'm sorry, Matt. I didn't realise you had such an incestuous relationship with your brother." Tai stuck his tongue immaturely at his mate. "All I want to do is just record this momentous day."

"I'm cold."

Tai turned the camera to Kari and turned the recorder on. "Here is the ensemble TK has chosen for my little sister. T-shirt. Shorts. Her heels. Typical guy wear—" He turned the camera to TK and darkened his voice. "—_for the summer_. TK, how dare you let my little sister freeze?"

TK looked apologetically at Tai. "Sorry. I forgot."

He then took off his jacket and handed it to her.

Kari noticed him glaring into the distance as he gave it to her. She took it, not knowing what else to do. She could feel TK stiffen as the icy wind chilled his spine, making its way up his oxford shirt.

He didn't let it show on his face. "I guess the first thing you need to know is how to shoot a basketball." He paused. "Do you know how to shoot a basketball?"

Kari hadn't heard any of this, still too busy trying to put TK's jacket on her. When she had finally put it on, she saw TK looking impatiently at her.

"What?" she asked.

His irritation visibly increased, but he turned around and pointed to the hoop. "Do you see the square-like thing right there?"

"What?"

She had no idea what TK was talking about.

Tai was silently cracking up behind the camera.

Matt kept glancing at the door, not nearly as entertained and ready to go back inside.

"Do you know what a square is?" TK asked slowly.

"Yes," Kari muttered.

He either didn't hear her, or he was insulting her. "It's a polygon. A quadrilateral. Four equal sides—"

"I know what a square is," Kari said louder.

"Well, that's a start," TK said with slight sarcasm. "Now, aim the ball for the top-right corner of the square."

TK bounced the ball to Kari—who didn't catch it.

"You were supposed to catch it," TK stated.

Kari had not been expecting him to throw it, and she didn't notice in time. She quickly took the ball and attempted to throw it towards the hoop, her eyes closed.

She opened to see TK desperately attempting to hold in laughter, the basketball in his hands. "That's called an air ball. That happens when you don't throw it hard enough."

"TK, stop being an ass," Matt said once he reached over and turned Tai's camera off. "She doesn't know how to play."

Matt had almost expected to see Tai ready to charge at TK and break him in half, but Tai seemed more upset that Matt had turned his camera off.

Kari grabbed the basketball from TK and tried again.

Another air ball.

This time, TK let out a small laugh.

Furious, she took the ball and threw it at his head. He looked surprised for a second, but his smile returned when she missed.

TK stared at the ball rolling away from them before bursting into fits of strained laughter as he pointed to her.

"I…I…I can't… haha… I can't do this…!" TK managed to say as he laughed. "This whole thing is so stupid. Why am I teaching you how to play basketball? In this weather? And you're wearing my clothes! I still don't even know why you guys are even here!"

Tai had finally gotten angry with TK and picked up the basketball as it rolled to his feet. He threw it in the air and skilfully kicked it towards TK's direction.

It didn't miss.

* * *

TK painfully held the side of his stomach.

Kari walked two steps ahead of him, clutching her brother for warmth.

Tai walked alongside her, his arm protectively holding her shoulder.

Matt walked beside TK, showing him little compassion.

"I told you to stop," Matt said.

"I think I'm going to vomit," TK muttered, coughing.

"That's what you get for not listening to me the first time."

TK stopped and frowned. "The least you could do is ask if I'm all right."

"Clearly, you are," Matt responded. "The biggest feeling you you should have is feeling like a jackass."

Matt ignored TK's grunt that sounded suspiciously like, "Worst."

* * *

When he was hit by a basketball going approximately 120 km/h, TK had completely lost his appetite.

He felt a hard nudge.

"Eat," Matt ordered.

TK rolled a piece of meat between his fork before he finally put it into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed.

His stomach lurched rebelliously.

"…TK?"

TK looked up when he heard his name. "Pardon?"

"Mrs Kamiya was just talking about how lucky you are to have a friendship that has lasted for as long as yours with Kari," Ms Takaishi summarised. "Don't you agree?"

TK put on his best smile. "Yes, of course. It's rare to have such lasting friendships."

He avoided eye contact with Kari.

Mrs Kamiya beamed and she set down her fork. "I simply cannot wait any longer! This is far too exciting to contain!"

Ms Takaishi suddenly smiled as well. "I completely agree."

Mr Ishida and Matt semi-curiously looked up. Mr Kamiya shook his head as he put another bite of food into his mouth. Tai turned his camera on, as if he had been planning for this moment. TK and Kari stared at their mothers, surprised by the outbursts.

"Together, Natsuko?"

"Of course, Yuuko."

"1, 2, 3," they chanted in unison. "You're getting married!"

* * *

Mr Ishida had excused himself for a cigarette. Mr Kamiya joined him, although he did not smoke. After a moment, Matt excused himself as well. Tai turned the camera to TK and Kari, recording their response.

Or lack of.

TK and Kari were still in the position they had been since their mothers broke the news.

"M…Mum…" TK said slowly, his voice hollow. "This is a joke, right? Arranged marriages don't even exist anymore. And…and I'm only seventeen. I'm still in high school. I don't even lov—you can't be serious when you say you want me to—"

"Marry him?" Kari exclaimed. She stood up, looking desperately at her mother. "I can't, Mum! Not him! I can't believe you would pick _him_ out of everybody in the world!"

TK stood up and interrupted, "Ka—"

"We're not even friends! We don't even talk! I don't even know him!" Kari continued, disregarding him. "Mum, I know it's your family's tradition, but I can't. I can't!"

"Kari!" Mrs Kamiya said, looking surprised. "You act as if this is some sort of surprise. We told you we had arranged for you to marry TK since—"

"You _knew_ about this?" TK asked, eyes wide in shock.

Kari was offended that he looked at her as if she were some crazy psychotic maniac who _wanted_ to marry him. "No! I mean, I knew of the tradition, but Tai didn't have to do it and—"

"Hey, I _almost_ had to do it," Tai defended. "Don't make it look like Mum favours me."

Ms Takaishi was slightly more sympathetic to her son. "TK, it isn't guaranteed. Of course we won't _force_ you into anything like this. We simply want you two to give each other a chance. Mrs Kamiya and I were talking one day, and she convinced me how great of an idea this is."

TK and Kari didn't respond.

"For that reason, the two of you will live with each other until February to see if you're compatible!" Mrs Kamiya announced.

Tai put down the camera, the colour from his face drained. "You…you want Kari to live with… with TK? Mum, do you realise he's a _guy_?"

"Of course, Tai, but TK is the very definition of a gentleman!" Mrs Kamiya smiled. "I trust him very much."

"Oh yes, please don't think badly of my son. He's simply perfect."

"Of course, so is my little Kari." Mrs Kamiya beamed. "Why don't we take them to their new flat right now?"

"You picked out our flat?" TK asked loudly.

"Surprise!" Ms Takaishi exclaimed. "We just couldn't help ourselves. It's really nice. You two will love it."

TK tried not to make eye contact as Tai gave him the most terrifying glare he had ever seen.

* * *

Rika wondered for a moment if this is what she was destined to become.

When she had come home from school, her mother had forced her to go to one of her tea parties, not allowing Rika any time to refuse.

She currently sat in a room of one of the biggest houses she had ever been in, listening to some forty-something woman and her mother discuss the latest gossip amongst the in-crowd of Tokyo mothers.

"Rumiko, your daughter is so gorgeous! I can definitely see her following your footsteps in becoming the next supermodel!" The woman smiled at Rika.

"I'd rather do something productive with my life," Rika blurted. "Not walk down some stupid catwalk."

"Rika!" Ms Makino exclaimed, condemning her daughter for her rudeness. "I'm so very sorry, Yuzumi. Please excuse her."

Rika sighed as she set her head on her wrist. After her bad day in school, etiquette wasn't the first thing on her mind.

Yuzumi smiled. "Oh, it's quite all right. I have a son around her age too." She glanced at her watch. "In fact, he should have been here over an hour ago. I hope he comes by so you can meet him, Rika."

As if on cue, the sound of a male voice came from the front door. "I'm home!"

"Come to the tea room for a moment! We have guests!" Yuzumi called back. She smiled. "You would love him, Rika. He's quite handsome, if I do say so myself."

Rika scowled. Yuzumi was basically her mother's double.

"There you are!" Yuzumi stood up to greet her son. Slightly interested, Rika looked up to see him. Horror overcame her as none other than Ryo Akiyama stood at the threshold.

"Hell—o," Ryo's tone changed as he caught sight of the girl sitting on the couch. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I was invited here," Rika said, as if defending herself. "What are _you_ doing here?"

Only after she had asked did she realise the stupidity of her question.

"I live here," he answered.

"Oh, you two know each other!" Yuzumi exclaimed, delighted. "How grand!"

Rumiko smiled widely as well. "Rika, Akiyama Corporation and I are sealing a modelling deal in Australia, so we're all going to take a trip down there for your winter holiday! Isn't that fabulous?"

"WHAT?" Rika shrieked.

"We're going to two weeks! Haven't you always wanted to go to Australia?"

"NO!"

"Jesus, Rika, stop screaming. We're indoors!"

Ryo looked at his mother. "Mum, does this mean I have to go?"

"Well, it is a family thing. You know how rare those are, so we'd prefer if you went…" Yuzumi gave her son a glare that stated he had no choice.

"I am _not_ going to fucking Australia for two weeks with this asshole!" Rika screamed. "The rest of you have fun, but I'm staying right here!"

* * *

"You're really mature, cursing in front of our mothers like that," Ryo muttered. "You got both of us into trouble—again."

"Do _not_ talk to me."

After Rika's outburst, Ms Makino angrily told Rika to relieve her bad day outside while Mrs Akiyama had "suggested" for her son to follow.

Therefore, the two were currently in the patio of the Akiyama household's backyard. They stood metres away from each other, neither really wanting to get too close to the other.

"We could have probably gotten ourselves out of it if you hadn't blown up like that."

Rika ignored him.

"You ruined my holiday," he muttered.

She turned around to glare at him. "And exactly what do you think this is for me? Some sort of prize?"

He shrugged matter-of-factly. "Obviously, you get the better part of the deal."

She narrowed her eyes. "And exactly what is that supposed to mean?"

He stood up, smirking. "Exactly what it sounds like."

"Hey!" Rika shouted as Ryo began to walk away. "Where are you going? Our parents said to stay here!"

He turned around and smirked. "This is my house. I can go wherever I want. And you seem like a delinquent. Do whatever it is that people like you do."

Rika glared at him as he left, her dislike for him adding by each second.

* * *

"Phew, that's the last one!" Tai announced as he set down a card box onto the floor of TK's and Kari's new flat.

"What a beautiful place!" Mrs Kamiya looked around, examining their flat once more. "Well, let's begin to unpack!"

Tai spoke up. "No, Mum. You and dad should go home. TK and I can unpack from here. We'll have some in-law bonding time."

She beamed at her son. "Why, thank you, Tai. How very thoughtful of you!"

He smiled back.

Mrs Kamiya gave each of the children hugs and kisses before she left with her husband.

Once the door closed, Tai immediately turned to TK, his expression changed.

"TK, I'm telling you right now. If you lay a single finger on my little sister, I will kick your ass so hard people won't be able to recognise you anymore." Tai grabbed the collar of TK's shirt to emphasise his superior strength. "Maybe you are the nice guy our parents think you are, but Kari doesn't seem to like you much, and I'm going to rely on her impression."

TK stared at Tai, obviously intimidated.

Kari felt the smallest bit sorry for him. "Tai, it's fine. You don't have to… threaten him."

Tai looked over at Kari. "I just want to straighten out any questions he may have. TK's a guy, Kari, and, with the exception of me, all guys are bastards who are after one thing."

TK stood there, his chest involuntarily held close to Tai's fist. "Erm…"

"Tai, TK and I can handle it from here. You should get home. I don't want to burden you," Kari tried.

"No burden," Tai said, finally letting go of TK rather harshly. TK stumbled backwards clumsily. "But if you insist, I guess I'll go home. Call me if he bothers you, Kari. I'll be over in a nanosecond to beat him to a bloody pulp."

TK mouthed a silent thanks to Kari, who appeared not to have noticed as she got up and hugged her brother goodbye.

Tai gave TK a final glare and ordered, "You _better_ do all the heavy lifting, Takaishi."

After TK assured him that he would, Tai smiled at Kari and left.

Awkward silence ensued.

"I guess… I'll unpack my room?" TK asked unsurely, reaching down to pick up a labelled box. "Do you need me to pick anything up?"

She looked insulted that he considered her so weak. "No."

"Oh," TK said awkwardly. "Erm, well then, I'll be in my room."

She sat down beside one of her boxes and opened it. "Bye."

He stood a metre away from her, his body pointing towards his room while his head was turned towards her. She sat with her back to him, examining her belongings.

He gave her a few seconds in case she wanted to say something else before he felt too awkward and went to his room, closing the door behind him.

* * *

When TK finally left his room a few hours later, he saw that Kari had organised most of the kitchen.

"Er," he said loudly, trying to get her attention without actually communicating directly to her.

She turned around.

"Save something for me. I don't want you to do everything."

She shrugged as she began to put things away from a box to a cupboard once again. "It's fine."

He grew annoyed. If she was going to live with him, the least she could do was be a little friendlier.

"Well, I have to go to basketball practice," he announced, lifting his duffle bag for Kari's back to look at. "I'll be back later."

She turned around again, looking annoyed. "If you really wanted to help, you could have said something earlier. I assumed you were being lazy."

"I thought you were unpacking your room too. I was under the impression we'd do shared areas later," he answered, his voice tinged with irritation. "Anyway, I'll be back after practice and I'll help you unpack then, so you can just start with your room now."

"I'm already unpacking the kitchen," she said, holding up a dish. "I'm not going to drop everything I'm doing and start with my room just so it'll fit your convenience."

"Well then, leave something for me," he said lowly.

"Fine."

That was a good enough answer for him, and he promptly left, relieved to finally be away from her.

* * *

Ryo looked up as his door opened. "Oh, TK! Good. Help me with my homework. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to use for mu—Are you all right?"

"My mum is insane," TK replied, looking quite pale as he took a seat on Ryo's couch.

"She can't be as bad as mine," Ryo muttered. "They're forcing me to go on holiday with that Rika girl from school. Do you know her? I met her for the first time the other day, and she's completely mental." Ryo spun his pen around the side of his head. "My whole winter holiday is wasted."

"My situation's worse." TK turned around to face his friend. "My mum arranged a marriage for me—to Kari Kamiya."

Ryo laughed, clearly thinking his friend was joking.

"I'm serious!" TK snapped.

Ryo stopped abruptly by the change in TK's tone. "Seriously?"

"Yes! They even made me move into a flat with her, and she just _sits there_ and doesn't say a word to me. It's so awkward."

"Kari Kamiya," Ryo repeated. "Who is she again? I thought you two used to be friends."

"Which makes it even more awkward, because she hates me now," TK explained as he let out a sigh. "I was too nervous to go back there after practice, so I came here instead."

Ryo chortled. "She has you that whipped already?"

TK shot Ryo a glare. "It's not funny, Ryo. I can't go back to my own home. And her older brother hates me and keeps threatening to end my life. He practically knocked me out with a basketball earlier, and I'm still bruised."

"He _hit_ you with a _basketball_?" Ryo added with a chuckle, "And you _bruised_?"

TK frowned.

Ryo tried to hide his smile. "So when's your wedding?"

TK frowned deeper. "There is no wedding."

"But you said—"

"It's an arranged marriage, not a forced one. All I have to do is tell them I'm not interested in two months, and I'm off the hook."

Ryo smirked. "Can I be your best man?" He added once he saw TK's annoyed face, "At least Kari seems like a nice girl. I'm stuck with the devil for two weeks."

TK didn't respond.

"But I guess that's better than marrying her," Ryo said, laughing.

TK shot him another glare.

Ryo cleared his throat. "Anyway, physics… I really need your help. I had to sit outside for the lecture since I was late, so I don't really get anything."

TK thought for a moment, weighing his options. On one hand, he could help Ryo with his science homework. On the other hand, he could go home, face Kari and unpack all night.

Sighing, he replied, "What do you need to know?"


	3. Girls Rule

**Hating You  
**Squit Ayumin

**Chapter 3: Girls Rule**

"Ryo, go help Rika with her hand-luggage."

Ryo lazily lifted one eye open in response to his father's request. Beside Rika's feet was a small bag; anybody could carry it with ease. He closed his eye again and answered, "She looks fine to me."

Silence.

He opened his eyes again to see his father giving him a disapproving look. Ryo knew well from experience that a long, unnecessary lecture would follow.

Grumbling, Ryo got up and walked over to Rika. She gave him her signature sour look. He ignored it, set on his mission. Without saying a word to her, he lifted her bag.

"What the—give it back!" she demanded. "What do you think you're you doing?"

She seized her bag from him, jerking it so forcefully out of his grip that the top half of his body lunged forward.

Ryo turned to his father with an incredulous, did-you-see-what-she-just-did look on his face. His father, however, had sat down in Ryo's former seat and was now focused on his computer's screen.

Apparently, he hadn't seen a thing.

"Don't touch my stuff," she hissed as she shoved his shoulder away from her.

He contemplated arguing, but, for the sake of his sanity, he merely sat down in a seat away from her _and_ his father.

His mother then approached him, mere seconds after he had sat down. "Ryo, dear, why don't you try and be nice to Rika? Look at her. She's standing by herself against that wall. She must be terribly shy, and we raised you to be friendly towards awkward people like her."

He looked at Rika again. She was looking very un-shy, frowning and glaring. "I don't want to."

"Ryo Akiyama, we raised you to be a gentleman. This is not how a gentleman acts!"

Ryo tried not to roll his eyes.

Usually, it wasn't easy to push Ryo's buttons. He was actually pretty patient and enjoyed making new friends, but something about Rika bothered him.

Perhaps it was the fact that she was the most unbelievable person he had ever come across.

"Besides, she is Rumiko Makino's daughter. She's an important asset to your father's company. You have to be nice."

Ryo finally rolled his eyes, disregarding his mother's immediate frown. She hated when he did it. "Mum, I don't care if she's Princess of Japan. I've already tried to be nice, but she's a mean girl. I'm not trying anymore."

She didn't respond for a moment, but instead gave him a stern look.

"What?" he said, knowing it'd annoy her.

"You will talk to her, Ryo." And stood there in front of him authoritatively until her son finally gave up, sighing, and walked to Rika once again.

"_What_?" Rika greeted irritably as she saw him approach her.

He let the comment pass.

"We got off to a rough start," he began.

She rolled her eyes. "If you're trying to kiss and makeup, forget it."

Ryo gave up at this point, and, without even responding, went back to sit down.

"She told me to piss off," Ryo reported to his mother as he shut his eyes again. "I'm serious when I say I'm not trying again."

* * *

Ryo was uncomfortable.

He shifted in his seat, moving the flat, airplane-provided pillow around in an attempt to find a more comfortable sitting position.

"Can you stop moving?" Rika snapped, turning her head to face him. "Some people are trying to read here."

He ignored her as he continued his search for a cosier spot.

"Eugh," she groaned as she took her own pillow and smashed it to Ryo's shoulder. "Use that, and stop being so damn annoying."

Having enough of her, he took it and smashed it back on top of her book, crinkling a few pages. "No, thank you."

Satisfied, he turned around to face the window.

He let out a small yelp as he felt a hard slap to his shoulder.

Rika had hit him with her book. Hard.

"Are you insane?" he hissed.

She pretended not to have heard him, instead opening her book and reading again.

He wanted to pick up that book, shred all its pages and throw the remains at her face.

Instead, he turned his head and looked out the window again.

These next two weeks were going to be hell. The only good thing that came out of this was missing the final day of the semester.

* * *

_Three… two… one…_

TK smiled a little. There was only two more minutes until the official beginning of the winter holiday.

As he shifted his eyes from the clock to the front of the classroom, he stopped to look at Kari. She sat diagonally to him, two rows away. At the same instant he had looked over to her, she turned around to get something from her bag.

They made eye contact.

Embarrassed, TK quickly looked away and out the window.

They hadn't spoken a word to each other since they had moved in together. TK made an effort not to leave his room when she was in the shared areas, and, if he did, he went straight out the flat door. One time, Kari had left to do something, and he had taken that opportunity to unpack everything she had left him.

So, other than the first day they had moved in together, they hadn't really seen each other. Even this morning, TK had woken up an extra twenty minutes earlier so he would leave before she did.

Once he decided he had stared out the window for a sufficient amount of time, he turned to look at the clock again.

His English teacher had a habit to not end class until he absolutely had to, so TK had a tendency to watch the clock once the last few minutes of class came around.

He glanced at Kari again, wondering if he should attempt conversation. He didn't have basketball anymore, so he was going to go straight home after class. Kari most likely would too.

He quickly looked away before she turned around and mentally sighed.

He'd have to face her sooner or later.

_Briiiing!_

"Have a great holiday!" his teacher exclaimed as students rushed out the door, ignoring him.

TK quickly stuffed everything into his schoolbag and walked over to Kari, who was carefully placing her belongings into her own bag.

"Hi Kari," he greeted, trying to sound as normal as possible.

She looked surprised, as if she had just noticed he was in her class. "TK."

Pause.

"Do you want to walk home together?" he asked awkwardly.

Pause.

"Erm, that's okay."

TK felt a pang of annoyance and embarrassment.

"Oh, okay," he muttered, not bothering to hide his irritation as he got up to leave.

"Thank you though," she added.

He pretended not to hear as he walked out of the classroom.

The nerve.

She made it sound like he _wanted_ to walk home with her. Obviously, he was doing it out of kindness. Grumbling still as he reached his locker, he vowed to stop attempting to be nice to her, because, clearly, she wasn't making an effort back.

He quickly exchanged books and decided he'd rather work out than go home. Slugging his books over his shoulder, he headed for the gym.

* * *

Kari stared curiously at TK leaving the room for a second before she began packing her things again.

He sure was weird.

He had deliberately avoided her since Friday afternoon, and then he randomly asked her to walk home with him.

Anyway, even if she wanted to, she couldn't. Today was the Photography Club's end-of-semester party, and she didn't want to miss it.

* * *

Under normal circumstances, Ryo would have let her have it.

But this was Rika Makino, and she had angered him far too many times for him to give in so easily.

"I'm the girl, so it's only natural that you, the boy, would let me have it."

"I am _not_ sleeping on the couch, Rika."

"Neither am I."

Crossing her arms, she sat on the bed and looked away.

It was like talking to a child.

"Look, we're two adults. We can both sleep on the bed and—"

"Ew, no!" Rika interrupted. "I'd rather hang myself than share a bed with you!"

Ryo frowned.

Their parents sure did have one twisted sense of humour to stick them together like this.

"Must you really be such a baby about it?" he asked. "There's not a sliver of attraction I have towards you—"

"Likewise."

"—So sleeping on the same bed—"

"I am _not_ sleeping in the same bed as you!"

"Then you can sleep on the couch!"

"I'm not sleeping on the couch either!"

"Then sleep on the floor," he said lowly. "Look, I'm sleeping on that bed, even if it means I have to wait until you fall asleep to do it."

"You're a creep!" she accused. "And, if I wake up and find you beside me, I'll murder you."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, Rika, I'm really scared. I'm at least twenty kilos heavier than you. I doubt you can even touch me—"

He was interrupted as something snapped onto his face, a physical force kicked his chest and knocked him to the floor, and something heavier landed on his chest, surely breaking some ribs and puncturing his lungs.

"What the hell!" he bellowed, throwing the pillow on his face aside. "You just threw a suitcase at me!"

Rika smirked at him from the bed. "Hypothetical situation: I did this to you after I realised you had snuck in bed with me. What are you going to do? Just stare and yell like you are now?"

He opened his mouth—and shut it when he couldn't think of a satisfying comeback. "You—"

"I?" she taunted. Her icy amethyst eyes sparkled with satisfaction.

He moved her suitcase out of the way, thinking about how much he wanted to chuck it straight at her face. He wanted to then jump at her and beat her to a blood pulp. He wanted to poke those eyes out and rip that smirk straight off her face.

Instead, he took her hand-luggage and swung it dangerously close to her face, making sure not to hit her.

He got his desired response as her smile quickly vanished and her look of superiority was replaced by fear.

"Maybe next time it won't miss," Ryo threatened.

Her fearful look morphed to an angry one. "What kind of a guy threatens to—"

There was a short knock before his father walked in. "Children, we're going out for dinner—Rika, is something the matter?"

Suddenly, Rika scrambled out of the bed and to his father. "Your…your son. He's trying to force me to sleep on the couch… He just swung his bag at me… I…I'm so scared…"

Ryo's jaw dropped.

She was unbelievable.

"Ryo!"

Ryo looked at his father, who looked furious. His eyes widened. "No! Dad, she's lying!"

* * *

He pressed an ear against the door, listening for movement inside.

Once he came to realise that the door was too thick to hear noise, he inserted his key and walked inside.

An enticing aroma greeted him, and his stomach growled in response.

"I'm home," he announced as he walked towards the dining room.

Kari sat at the table, eating dinner. "Welcome back."

TK was somewhat getting used to the awkward silences between them now.

"That smells good," he tried, hoping to stimulate conversation.

"Thanks." She got up, half-eaten plate in hand.

He moved out of the way for her to go to the kitchen.

She threw the food away and put the plate in the dishwasher.

He wished she would offer him some, but he knew it was out of the question.

"Good night," she said before she walked into her room and closed the door behind her.

TK was going crazy.

Sighing, he walked into the kitchen for anything he could eat.

He wasn't the world's best cook, but he wasn't useless either. He opened the refrigerator.

Aside from a box and water bottles, it was nearly empty.

His heart fell. He hadn't gone grocery shopping since he had moved in, and he had been eating out every night.

He picked up the box.

"Do not eat," he read, taking the sticky note from the top of the box.

He crumpled the note and tossed it aside, opening the box.

There was half a loaf of bread, a packet of bacon, two eggs, and a carton of unopened milk.

It would have to do.

Making a mental note to replace the items later, he closed the refrigerator door, tore off a piece of bread and stuck it in his mouth.

* * *

Ryo looked happily at his concoction, deciding that he made a decent chef.

Banned from going to dinner with everybody else due to his lack of etiquette, he was forced to make best of his suite's kitchenette. About halfway through cooking, he realised he could have just ordered from the hotel, but he brushed the thought aside because his food didn't appear half-bad.

He had essentially taken everything he liked, mixed it in a pan, added water, and placed his mixture over the stove until it boiled. He had let it solidify a bit, and now it had basically turned into a big, grey blob of… thing.

He mixed it some more with his fork before he placed a small amount into his mouth.

To his satisfaction, it tasted rather good. Smiling, he took another bite—bigger this time—and swallowed.

Cooking was easy!

* * *

Ryo forced a pathetic cough, allowing the excess vomit from the back of his throat to leave his system and drip into the toilet below.

He clutched the base of the sink for support as he hoisted himself up and flushed the toilet for what seemed like the fiftieth time.

He considered for a minute to vomit on the bed to make Rika angry, but even he couldn't devise such plans as he gagged and vomited again—this time, on the floor.

Groaning loudly, he walked to the coffee table and picked up the phone, ready to call room service to clean up the mess he had made—

And vomited on the table.

* * *

"Kari! What is this?"

Kari stood up at the sound of her name, and, curious, she walked outside.

She gasped as a putrid scent invaded her nostrils.

It smelled of sulphur—no, rotten eggs.

"TK!" she squealed, seeing him holding his nose with one hand and pointing to a frying pan with the other.

"What the _hell_ is that?" he demanded, his voice nasally.

"It's…it's expired food," she stuttered.

"Why the hell are you keeping expired food in the kitchen?"

She got annoyed. After all, she _did_ leave a note of warning.

"I was going to give it to the plants," she said irritably.

He took note of her irritation and felt himself getting even more flustered.

"I left a note," she added.

He darkened, but then turned an odd shade of pale green. "I ate a little bit of the bread and drank some of the milk…"

"Didn't you see the mould? Or notice the milk tasted sour? It's been expired for days!" Kari picked up the bread and pointed at the spores. "It's so blatantly obvious."

She didn't remember him being this stupid.

"Well, excuse me," he growled, throwing everything from the box in the trash.

"Hey!" she protested. "I was going to use that!"

"It's still in there," he grumbled.

She frowned. "I don't know why you're getting so angry when it was _my_ food in the first place, TK. I should be mad that you were even thinking about eating my stuff."

"I was _going_ to replace it," he snapped. "Anyway, I'm going to my room. And I'd appreciate it if you didn't leave any more expired food in our refrigerator. That's disgusting."

"I hope you don't spend all night in the toilet," Kari said icily, surprising herself as she walked right ahead of him to her room. "If you need any laxatives, we have some in the cabinet next to the refrigerator."

She smiled fakely at TK's blushing face as she slammed her door loudly in front of him.

Once that sunk in, she walked to her desk and sat down again.

_Stupid TK._

* * *

"Gross!" Rika yelled as she walked into the room. "What's that smell?"

Ryo groaned a little from the couch as he lifted his head to look at Rika.

Without responding, he slammed his head back down onto his pillow.

"Hm." Rika smirked. "Does this mean I get the bed?"

"Yes, yes, get the damn bed," Ryo snapped, waving an arm. "I don't care where I sleep as long as I get some."

Rika frowned. "Well, _I'm_ not ready to sleep, so deal with it."

Ryo groaned loudly with frustration. "Rika, turn off the light!"

"No."

Ryo groaned again, too weak and tired to do much else. Instead, he threw his covers over his head, begging to himself that sleep would come soon.


	4. Takako

**Hating You  
**Squit Ayumin

**Chapter 4: Takako**

"I don't know if you doubt my abilities or anything, but just for the record, I'm perfectly capable of finding a girlfriend on my own."

Kari ignored TK, mostly because she understood his irritation.

But it wasn't her idea.

It was her brother's.

Matt, too, had somewhat agreed with the plan and had given Kari his consent (indirectly), but, mostly, Tai had devised the plan.

The two were currently at the mall, finding TK a potential girlfriend. Clearly, being around Kari was too awkward, and Tai still disapproved.

Thus, Tai had thought of the brilliant plan to find TK's new perfect girlfriend. That's how Tai had gotten out of his arranged marriage, after all.

"Why are we even here?" TK complained again. "Even if I do need you to help me find a date—which I don't—I won't find anyone at the mall."

His unnecessary emphasis was starting to annoy her.

"If you want to do this so badly, why am _I_ the one doing it?" he continued. "Why don't you find yourself a boyfriend?"

Kari frowned, spotting a tuft of his hair poking out in a strange direction. Instinctively, she reached out to fix it. "Haven't you ever heard of a comb?"

He frowned as well. "You do realise people will assume we're going out if you hang around me all the time and fuss with my hair—which you should stop, by the way." He backed his head away from her hand and reached up to brush the offending tuft of hair aside himself. "And, yes, actually, I have heard of a comb. And I would have used it too, except _somebody_ woke me up and pushed me out the door without a moment's notice."

"I gave you time to wash up," Kari said matter-of-factly as she looked around the mall.

"While you kept urging me to hurry," TK muttered, glancing at his watch. "It isn't even noon. Nobody is going to be here. Who comes to the mall this early?"

"A lot of people, TK. Just watch. This will be easy. You just do your thing, and I'll watch from behind."

* * *

An hour later, TK had managed to walk around the entire mall twice without approaching a single girl. The only human contact he made was with the pretzel guy as he bought himself a pretzel from the food court.

Frustrated and bored, Kari had decided to take over.

"TK, don't you think that girl is pretty?" Kari asked, pulling lightly on his sleeve.

"Uh-huh," he answered absentmindedly, staring at the device beside him. TK seemed to be more interested in the selection of drinks he had from the vending machine.

She frowned. "You didn't even look."

He inserted his money and pressed a couple buttons.

"Are you ignoring me?"

He took out his drink, smiling, as he opened the bottle.

"Nope," he replied, his eyes wandering past hers. "Hey, I'm going to go see if they have any new video games."

"TK, we're supposed to be—"

"There are lots of girls in the video game store," he assured, putting the rest of his pretzel in her hand.

Without waiting for a response, he disappeared into the store Kari was certain had no females.

Furious, she harshly chucked his pretzel in the nearest bin.

"Fine, TK Takaishi. If you won't cooperate, I guess I'll just find _my_ definition of your perfect girlfriend."

She usually was not this mean, but he was really beginning to get under her skin.

She looked behind her and saw a girl standing near the washrooms.

She was about their age, perhaps a few years older. She was easily two or three times Kari's size, yet she wore clothes that even Kari didn't think she could fit into. She had on a tight boob tube, the smallest jean miniskirt Kari had ever seen, torn leggings and sparkling pumps. Fake jewellery dripped from her ears, neck, wrists, and fingers. Her hair was twisted into a complicated hairstyle, which she played with her left hand. Her right hand was near her painted mouth, which chewed on a chipped fingernail.

The worst type of chav.

_She was absolutely perfect._

Smiling, Kari approached the girl. As she came closer to her, her strong perfume became more and more apparent. So did the excess makeup caked on her face.

"Hello, my name is Kari," she said sweetly.

The girl looked at Kari as if she were a rat. "Erm, do I know you?"

Kari was shocked by her voice. It didn't match her. It was too high-pitched, like a child who had just breathed in helium.

"Oh. No, not really." Kari forced a giggle, hoping it would relieve some of the awkwardness. "You see, I have this friend. My, er, flatmate. He was really interested in you, but he's, er, shy! I told him I'd talk to you, but he got flustered and went into the game store over there. I was wondering if you could just give him a pity date. You know, just to raise his self-esteem a little."

The girl stared at Kari, not responding.

Kari cleared her throat and laughed nervously.

"You're kidding, right?" she said, rolling her eyes. "Sorry, but he sounds like a real loser."

"No, no!" Kari protested. "He's not! He's on our school's basketball team, and he's easy on the eye." She pointed to the clear windows of the game store. "See? He's the tall, blond one right there. He's not weird or anything. He's just painfully shy. He was, er, home-schooled."

The girl suddenly gained more interest, and she smiled to reveal her crooked, stained teeth.

"His name is TK," Kari added sweetly, happy to have caught this girl's shallow interests. "Just walk up to him and tell him when you're willing to go out with him. No need to even ask, because he'd probably be too shy to reply. Just do all the talking… er… Miss…"

"Takako," she purred, making her way to the store.

* * *

"Ah, I didn't even bring any of my game consoles to the flat," TK thought aloud, putting a box back in its place. "I guess I don't really play them that often anyway…"

"TK, is it?"

TK turned around at the sound of his name, expecting someone he knew.

Instead, he saw an unfamiliar girl, rather large and squat, a foul smell emitting from her.

"Er, I'm sorry. Were you talking to me?" he asked, trying not to look nauseated.

"It's okay, you don't have to talk," she murmured, placing a finger to his lips.

He backed away instantly, shocked. "I think you—"

"Tomorrow at eight is fine," she whispered, dragging her finger from his lip to his chin.

He was too mortified to respond.

She giggled as she tucked a small scrap of paper into the collar of his shirt, giving his chest a pat. "That's my number. I know you're shy, so maybe I'll just call you. Okay, sweetheart?"

She blew him a kiss and turned to leave, winking at Kari along the way.

He finally turned to Kari, not knowing what else to do. She smiled sweetly at him before she turned to talk to the girl who had nearly sexually assaulted him in public.

He continued to stare, confused.

It was only after the store erupted into applause that he realised what Kari had gotten him into.

* * *

Ryo had woken up that morning to find his stomachache had somewhat passed. Still, he felt ill from the night before and thus decided to sit on the couch and watch television all day.

Rika, luckily, had left before he had woken up. She was probably getting breakfast, something Ryo wasn't considering eating thanks to his queasiness.

It did mean he'd get some private time without Rika though. The less time with her, the better.

As if on cue to ruin his day, he heard a click of a lock before the door opened, revealing the devil on Earth.

"How's your stomach?" she asked smugly.

Ryo took the remote control and raised the volume of the television.

She frowned and walked over, blocking his view.

He yawned and lied back down, feigning fatigue.

He wasn't about to give her his attention that easily.

"Guess what I have."

_Probably poison_, Ryo thought, as he raised the volume higher.

Rika, annoyed, seized the controller with a swift move, turned the television off and threw the gadget aside.

"I was watching that," Ryo said sourly.

"Guess what I have," she repeated.

He frowned as he sat back down. "I don't know. I don't care. I can tell you want you _don't_ have though. Manners, a personality, a life, social skills, fr—"

Rika interrupted him, seemingly unaffected by his insults. "Are you still mad about the couch? You _volunteered_ to have it." She cleared her throat and took something from the bed. It was a wrapped package, and she chucked it straight at Ryo's ribs.

It took every ounce of energy he had not to make a strained face.

"What is it?" he asked lowly.

She smiled. "A present. Open it."

Ryo frowned and threw it on the table.

It would be a cold day in hell when he would become Rika's little pet.

"No, thank you."

Her smug smirk vanished, replaced by a more familiar scowl.

He spotted something from the corner of his eye and reached down to pick it up.

"I've got a present for you too, Rika."

He threw the shirt he had worn the day before at her, still reeking of vomit with small chunks and bits still attached.

She shrieked, grabbing it and throwing it off of her.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

She marched up to him, kicked his shin and stormed off to the bathroom.

The pain now exploding from his leg was worth the satisfaction of seeing her reaction. For the first time in a while, he happily smiled as he flicked the television on.

Two could play this game, and he wasn't very keen on losing.


	5. Hotel Fun

**Hating You  
**Squit Ayumin

**Chapter 5: Hotel Fun**

Ryo sat on the bed, as far away from Rika as possible but close enough to where he could touch her shoulder if he stretched forward.

He wasn't scared of her.

He simply wanted to secure his life in the event that she wasn't a morning person—a very likely possibility.

Taking a shallow breath, he shook her shoulder lightly.

She didn't stir.

"Rika," he said, shaking her harder.

Again, she remained asleep.

He frowned. This was harder than he had originally thought it would be. He had sort of assumed she would be a light sleeper.

He stood up and walked up beside her. "Rika."

No reaction.

"RIKA!" he screamed into her ear, shaking her shoulder hard.

"What." Her voice was groggy yet as sharp and irritated as usual.

_Finally._

"Wake up. I'm starving."

Rika opened her eyes several millimetres, just enough to be blinded by the offending sunlight.

Her discomfort would have made him feel bad, if it weren't for the fact he knew how foul of a human being she actually was.

"So what?" she grumbled, turning her body opposite of him. "Go downstairs and get your damn breakfast."

"Actually, it's one, so it's lunchtime," Ryo pointed out. "And my parents told me to bring you, or I wouldn't be allowed anything. They think I should be nicer to you."

Her lack of response prompted him to grab her covers, pulling it from her body to the floor.

It wasn't nearly as effective as it seemed on television. She hardly budged.

"Rika, wake up!" he yelled. "Lazy bum."

He proceeded to try and wake her until she threatened him so violently that he opted to eat something from the refrigerator until she woke.

* * *

Humming, Kari walked from the dining table to the living room, where the phone was currently ringing. She picked up the receiver and held it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Is TK there?" the caller shrieked into Kari's ear.

Kari immediately thrust the telephone as far away from her as possible.

Whoever it was, she had nearly ripped Kari's ear in two.

"Er, may I ask who's speaking, please?" she asked as she cautiously brought the telephone closer to her head.

She braced herself, holding the receiver away.

"It's Takako! I need to talk to TK!"

Kari smiled. "Oh, good morning. Sure, I'll get him right away." She placed a hand over the speaker and turned her head towards TK's room. "TK, your mum's on the phone!"

He was taking his morning shower, so the water had muffled her voice. She heard him turn the water off, and he asked her to repeat herself. They were the first words he had said to her in a long time. She did so.

"Tell her I'll call her back in a five minutes!"

Kari counted to five in her head. No way was TK getting off that easily.

"She says it's urgent!"

"I'm in the shower!" TK hollered back, his voice tinged with irritation.

"Matt got into a car accident!" Kari lied before realising she shouldn't have made up such a horrible lie.

In a second, TK was in the living room, a hand gripping a towel messily around his waist. His hair still had shampoo in it, and his upper body was soapy. "Matt got into a car accident? Is he all right?"

The sight of TK like this made her uncomfortable, and she turned her head away from him. Now feeling bad after seeing the worried look on his face, Kari simply held the receiver to TK rather than saying anything.

He seized it and placed it next to his ear. "Mum! What happened? Is Matt okay?"

"Hey babe! Good morning!"

The voice was definitely _not_ his mother's voice.

"Who is this?" he demanded, not really caring that he sounded rude.

"Takako!"

TK shot Kari an angry glare. She pretended to be interested at the wall colour.

"What are you doing today, sweetheart? I thought we could get brunch!"

"Sorry, but I'm really busy. Bye."

He slammed the telephone back on the cradle.

"That wasn't funny," he said dangerously before he stormed back to his room.

Kari frowned, feeling a strange mixture of guilt and irritation. As expected, the telephone rang almost at the same time TK slammed the door to his bedroom. She picked it up.

"Hello? Kari? What happened?"

"Oh, he was showering and felt embarrassed to talk to you," Kari explained. "But brunch sounds lovely."

Takako gave a high-pitched giggle. "Okay! Tell him to meet me at Time Café at eleven, okay? Okay! Bye!"

Takako hung up without a response from Kari.

Fine with her.

Smiling, she hung up and walked back into the dining room to finish her breakfast.

Now all she had to do was figure out a way to get TK over there.

* * *

It was worth it.

Laughing hysterically, Ryo scrambled out of Rika's bed and ran out the door of their suite. Screeching, Rika threw Ryo's vomit-stained shirt off her face, bolted out of bed, grabbed the telephone on the stand, ripped it off the wall and ran after him. She was going to _kill_ the bastard.

As Rika ran outside, Ryo, who had been waiting against the wall right by the door, ran back inside and closed, chained and leaned against the door. Banging and a small click of acceptance from Rika's card followed, along with a furious turning of the knob.

"Let me in!"

"No, I don't think I will," Ryo said mockingly.

Ryo was suddenly knocked to the ground as Rika ran her body to the door, opening it as much as it would go before the chain stopped her.

Although she managed to make Ryo stumble, it didn't give her a drop of satisfaction. After all, she was still outside, while he remained in the suite.

Getting over the embarrassment quickly, Ryo jumped on the bed and lied down. "Wow, what a comfortable bed. I can't believe I've been stuck on the couch while you undeservingly slept on this."

Somehow, Rika broke through the chain and stormed inside. Panicking after witnessing her intimidating strength, Ryo ran into the bathroom and locked the door.

"Bastard! Let me in!"

"No, go away!" Ryo yelled back before he walked to the mirror to examine himself.

She was insane. Not only that, but she was a strangely strong sort of… monster.

In a split second, Rika ran herself into the door of the bathroom, breaking it open.

Ryo yelled in fright and surprise.

"What the _hell_ is wrong with you?" he demanded, wondering for a moment if she was human.

"What the _fuck_ is wrong with you?" she snapped, pointing to the shirt on the floor with the phone in her hand. "Who does that? Say sorry!"

"Sorry for what?" he asked innocently, smiling.

She looked even angrier as she threw the telephone aside—possibly breaking it—grabbed Ryo by the collar, and pulled him down to her face. "Don't play with me, Akiyama."

Ryo took her wrists with a hand and pushed her off. Once he regained his posture, he said, "Don't touch me."

"I won't touch you if you don't touch me," Rika snapped as she marched out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

"You touched me first, you crazy woman!" Ryo argued, grabbing the handle and turning it.

To his horror, the knob simply kept turning while the door remained shut.

Rika had broken the door, probably when she had broken in.

"Rika, you idiot!" he yelled. "You broke the door! Let me out!"

She didn't respond.

"Rika, this isn't funny! Open the door!"

Still, she didn't respond.

"What the hell! Open the door!"

Frantically turning the knob, Ryo continued to bang on the door in case anybody could hear him. Either Rika was really good at standing still and ignoring him, or she had already left. He never heard the door open. Maybe she opened it when he was still twisting. He couldn't remember anymore.

Either way, he was screwed.

* * *

When TK finally came out of his room, he sulked to the living room, sat on the couch, and flicked on the television. He was ignoring her, angry from the morning's incident.

Kari was watching him from the dining table, giving him time to settle in before saying, "Want to get some food together?"

He seemed taken aback by her sudden kindness, but quickly recovered. "No thanks."

Clearly, he was still irritated with her.

"But I feel bad for this morning, and I know you haven't eaten yet." Kari looked at him innocently. "Please?"

* * *

Kari decided she must really dislike TK in order to carry out something like this.

After countless minutes of begging, he had finally agreed to follow her to eat.

"I hope you brought your wallet," she wanted, in case he thought she meant she'd buy for him when she said she wanted to eat with him.

"No, I'm going to make you pay for me, because I'm that kind of guy," he grumbled sarcastically. "Where are we going anyway?"

"Time Café," Kari said sweetly. "It's just around the corner here. They have great food!"

"I bet," he muttered.

"Fix your hair. You look like a dogsbody!"

TK lazily put one hand on top of his head as he opened the door for Kari.

"You go ahead," Kari insisted, smiling.

He gave her a weird look—she was so strange—but went inside anyway. He had been so focused on looking at her that he had accidentally run into someone.

"Oh, sorry!" he said quickly, turning around to apologise. In front of him stood a short, squat girl, her pudgy arms reaching out to him.

"Oh, TK, I'm so glad you came!"

He stared at the unfamiliar being in front of him. "Erm, do I know you?"

She cackled loudly, as if he had said something incredibly funny. "I didn't think you'd show up for a minute since Kari told me you're so shy, but…"

At this point, TK turned around to look at Kari, seething.

She was gone.

He was forced to turn around as the girl grabbed his arm and pulled him to her so he was forced to look at her.

"Er, I'm sorry, er… er…" TK had forgotten her name. He decided to leave out her name. "You see, this is a huge misunderst—"

"Come on!" she screeched, dragging him to a booth.

She threw him inside and slid in beside him, blocking his way out.

"So tell me about yourself!" she continued to shriek. With that, she began to talk about herself.

TK sunk in his seat, too embarrassed to look anybody in the café in the eye.

It took TK a total of one second to realise Takako's mouth was a perpetual talking device. Her voice annoyed him and he could really care less what she was saying, but, by this point, he didn't even bother to escape. Rather, he nodded and glared at the table, mumbling an occasional, hallow "uh-huh" to make it sound like he was actually listening.

* * *

Hours later, Rika walked back into her suite to find that Ryo was not there.

Perfect.

She lied down on her bed and sighed happily, "Thank God. That boy's so bloody annoying."

"Rika?"

She sat up, hearing Ryo's voice. She looked to his couch but still didn't see him. "Ryo?"

"Rika?"

"Ryo?" she said a little louder, carefully getting out of the bed. If this was his pathetic attempt to jump out and scare her, he had another thing coming.

"Rika?"

"Stop repeating my name!" she snapped, looking around. She couldn't see him.

"I'm still locked in the bathroom."

She turned her attention to the bathroom door. As realisation struck, a sharp chortle escaped her lips.

"Rika, let me out. I've been in here all day."

She walked up to the bathroom door and gave it a small knock. "Are you being serious right now?"

"No, Rika, I'm lying about being locked in a bathroom all day just to hear your beautiful laugh," he said sarcastically. "You broke the door, so open it."

Rika rolled her eyes as she reached for the door handle. "Don't blame your stupidity on me."

"Wait, don't open the door yet! I'm—"

Rika swung the door open—and nearly screamed.

Ryo stood in front of her, towel around his waist, one hand drying his hair with a towel and the other holding a toothbrush.

He seemed unfazed by his exposure.

"I warned you," he said matter-of-factly as he threw his hair towel aside and walked out, lightly pushing her out of the way. "Thank you for locking me in there all day, by the way. Other than starving to death and being bored out of my mind, I'm fine. Thanks for caring to ask."

"Put some clothes on _now_!" she demanded finally.

Ryo grinned, delighted to see Rika feel so awkward. "I will in a second." He picked up the broken telephone from the coffee table and tossed it at her. "Use that as a doorstopper for now. I'll call maintenance tomorrow morning."

She had caught the phone, but didn't do anything with it.

He smiled wider as he walked over to her. "Rika, does the sight of me like this really stun you that much?"

She smashed the telephone to his torso, crushing whatever ribs were still intact. "No. Put some clothes on now!"

He watched her contently as she walked to his closet, threw the doors open, walked inside, and tore articles of clothing from the hangers to his direction.

He walked up beside her. "My underwear is in that drawer over there," he helped, pointing.

She turned to glare at him. "Do you think this is funny?"

"Yes." He laughed a little. "Come on. Aren't you going to get me some? Don't be such a prude."

"What is wrong with you?" Rika said, disgusted. "I can't believe you're standing there _laughing_ when you should actually be humiliated and ashamed to show that wimpy little body to me. Even _I'm_ bigger than you! I'm about to vomit; it's so embarra—mmph!"

Rika's eyes shot open as Ryo stuffed his toothbrush in her mouth.

"You need that more than I do," he said as he took the clothes from Rika's hands, reached over her to open his underwear drawer, and took out a pair of boxers. He gave her quick smile as he gently pushed her out of his closet before closing the doors to change. "My towel's off. Don't come in unless you're perverted."

"You're sick!" she shrieked once her initial shock disappeared. She ran to the bathroom and spat into the sink, his toothbrush long discarded somewhere near the floor of his closet doors. "I'll kill you, Akiyama. Right after I get your germs out of my mouth, I will murder you. Just wait."

From inside his closet, Ryo pulled a shirt over his head, trying hard not to laugh. "Go right on ahead, Rika."

* * *

"Kari Kamiya!" TK bellowed, as he threw open the door of their flat. "Where are you?"

He was greeted instead by her brother.

"Why are you yelling at her?" Tai asked, walking up to the door. A deep frown was cast upon his face. "Don't yell at her like that."

TK didn't know whether to be scared or furious, and decided to settle for something in between.

"Hi TK," Kari greeted as she walked up beside her brother. "I invited Tai over to see how nice our flat looks now that we've unpacked."

TK glared at Kari before giving a tight smile. "Well then, I'll just head over to Matt's."

Tai smiled. "No, stay. I was just leaving."

TK gave the Kamiyas another tight smile before disappearing into his room. To release his anger, he punched his pillow before throwing his head down on it.

Just two months of this… All he had to do was endure two more months of this.

He heard the front door closing, followed shortly by Kari giggles growing louder as she made her way closer to her room.

She knocked. "TK?"

He ignored her.

She knocked louder.

"TK?"

"What?" he replied rather rudely.

She opened the door, not bothering to ask for permission.

"Come in," TK said darkly, his face still buried in his pillow.

She giggled again. "How was your date?"

Furious, TK raised his head and gave Kari the most terrifying glare he could conjure. He then stood up to intimidate her. "I don't know what the hell your problem is Kari, but if this is some messed up plan to get back at me for not being your friend anymore, get a life."

He had expected Kari to become shocked and back away, but instead she glared straight back at him. "Excuse me? Get _over_ yourself, TK! Like I really care that I lost a friend like you. I'm doing this because your brother told me to find you a girlfriend! Don't think that I'm wasting my time on you because I want to."

"Then you're supposed to help me, not torture me! You volunteered yourself for that job, so stop acting like a baby and do what you signed up to do."

She looked insulted. "Why don't you take some initiative then? It's not _my_ job to take care of you, TK! You're saying I'm acting like a baby when you are one! You're nothing but a seventeen-year-old baby. Grow up."

TK walked closer to her. "Don't even start with this immaturity shit until you gain some maturity yourself." He held the door and motioned for her to leave. "You can start by calling Takako and telling her that this was all some twisted plan of yours."

Kari crossed her arms. "Make me."

"Fine."

TK walked out of his room and slammed the door, leaving Kari alone in his room. He then opened the door to her room.

In an instant, Kari was out of his room and in hers.

"Don't you dare touch anything!" she screamed.

He turned around, eyes flashing. "It isn't my fault I made other friends, Kari."

"_What_?"

She couldn't hide the shock in her face.

"That's what this is all about, isn't it?" TK could feel his voice rising. "I made new friends and you couldn't handle it."

Kari, apparently speechless, continued to open and close her mouth slightly, as if struggling to find words to respond.

"Don't make _me_ look like the asshole, Kari. You're the one who made no effort to get to know them." He gave her another cold look. "Anyway, I'm tired of trying. Good night."

He turned his gaze away from her and walked out the door before she could react, closing her door quickly before marching into his own room.

She didn't follow him.

* * *

Author's Note: My friend actually broke her door the same way Rika broke her suite's bathroom door. She can't close the door to her room, or she's locked out until somebody from the outside opens it for her. It's hilarious.


	6. Dates and Beaches

**Hating You  
**Squit Ayumin

**Chapter 6: Dates and Beaches**

He held in his laughter, though the knotted mess that was Rika's morning hair was a bit funny.

"Come on. I want to go to the beach," he said nicely.

He wanted this to go smoother than the day before. After witnessing how scary she could be, he didn't want to provoke her unless absolutely necessary.

"It's _winter_," she croaked before she slammed her head back on her pillow.

"Well, it's summer in Australia, and I want to do something other than sit here and watch telly all day!"

"I hate swimming."

"You can just tan. You're really pale."

"I burn easily."

"Read a book. You look like the kind of girl who enjoys reading."

"I hate sand."

"Then you're in the wrong part of the world." He pulled her duvet off. "Just wake up and put on a swimming costume, will you?"

Rika's scowl was replaced with a smug smile. "I haven't got one."

Ryo looked at her incredulously. "Are you joking? Who comes to a resort without a swimming costume?"

"I do," she said matter-of-factly. "So go turn on the telly, lower the volume and leave me al—"

She was interrupted as the door opened abruptly and Rumiko walked in, grinning widely. "Rikaaaa! Oh good, you're up! Come darling, we must go shopping! I noticed you forgot to bring a swimming costume when I was looking through your luggage the other day." She sat beside her sleeping daughter and shook her shoulder. "It's a perfect excuse for some mother-daughter bonding time, isn't it?"

Groaning angrily, Rika grabbed her covers from Ryo's hands, plopped back on the bed, and pulled the covers over her head. Ms Makino looked at Ryo, confused, mouthing, "What's wrong with her?" Ryo shook his head to answer that he really had no clue.

* * *

TK awkwardly walked into the kitchen where Kari was busily cooking breakfast. She didn't even look at his direction, instead choosing to ignore him completely. TK was the kind of guy who forgot things after a good night's rest. Kari, he knew, was the complete opposite. She wouldn't forgive or forget until the other apologised.

"Good morning," he muttered.

She replied by stabbing her scrambled eggs with her spatula, shredding them to smaller pieces. Bits flew off the pan.

He cleared his throat. "Do you need any help?"

She moved to the pan next to the eggs where bacon sizzled. She flipped those with the spatula as well, slamming the meat to make it sizzle louder.

"Guess not."

He felt strangely intimidated. For the sake of doing something, he opened the refrigerator door and examined the inside. Finally, he took out a carton of orange juice and took two cups from the cupboard. "Want some?"

She placed half the eggs and two slices of bacon on a plate, along with two pieces of toast from the toaster. Glaring at TK, she hastily handed it to him. "Your breakfast."

Without another word, she put the rest of the food on another plate and jammed two more slices of bread in the toaster.

"Thanks," he mumbled, deciding to pour some orange juice for her as well. He was rather shocked she was cooking breakfast for him. Did what he say actually hold meaning to her? He pushed a cup towards her, put the carton back in the fridge, walked to the breakfast table and sat down. A few minutes later, Kari joined him.

They ate in silence, but TK repeatedly sneaked peeks at her, in case she was sneaking peeks at him. She wasn't.

"Are you waiting for an apology?" he asked rather bluntly through sips of his orange juice.

Kari angrily stabbed a slice of bacon with her fork, causing a bit of a screeching sound from the plate. It was kind of like fingernails being slid across a blackboard, and it hurt both their ears, though neither showed any discomfort.

"Because I'm not. Going to apologise, I mean. I meant what I said."

"Okay." Kari picked up a magazine from the middle of the table, opened it and began to read. Again, they ate in awkward silence. TK finished first, but just sat there, picking at the tiny pieces of eggs he had not finished. Kari didn't appear to notice.

Finally, TK spoke.

"You're being really difficult, you know that? Fine, I'm sorry. I was a jerk, and I'm sorry. Hey, you have to look at me when I apologise!" TK reached across the table and pulled down Kari's magazine to look her in the eye. She smacked his face with the magazine, causing TK to retreat. "Ow! What the hell is wrong with you?" He touched his face. "That actually hurt, you know!"

Not replying, Kari straightened her magazine and continued to read. She usually was not like this. Nobody—not even herself—would ever categorise her as confrontational.

TK frowned.

He hated when people were mad at him. Of course he realised that there would always be some who disliked him—and he really would not have minded if Kari were one of them—but that changed once he was forced to live with her. He could tolerate her being annoyed by him and making rude remarks, but not her giving him the silent treatment.

"Oh, come on." TK rolled his eyes. "Stop being mad. I'll make dinner."

"I can make my own dinner."

"I'll make you a better dinner."

"Are you implying that your cooking is better than mine?"

TK felt a twitch of annoyance. "I'm not implying anything, Kari."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not. I'm just offering you dinner."

"Why?"

"To show I truly am sorry."

"For what?"

_You know what, you little smartass…_ TK thought angrily. "For being a jerk to you."

"How does making some mediocre dinner make up for being a complete jerk? No thanks."

With that, Kari set her magazine down, picked up her plate and walked back into the kitchen.

TK held in the urge to punch a hole through the nearest wall.

* * *

"Mum, have you gone completely mad?" Rika tried to remove her wrist from her mother's grasp as Rumiko led her inside a Dolce and Gabbana boutique. "I am not going to buy some stupid, overpriced swimming costume I probably won't even wear!"

"Of course you aren't. Your mummy's going to pay! What kind of mother do you think I am?"

Despite Rika's protests, her mother dragged her towards the register. Rumiko smiled at the lady behind the counter. "Hello, I'm here to buy a swimming costume for my daughter."

"Mum!"

Dressed in a t-shirt and worn jeans, she hardly fit into the fashion world her mother so loved. Actually, her jeans were designer, but that was completely beside the point.

The counter lady obviously agreed with her, disapprovingly raising her eyebrow at Rika. "Oh, I see. Well, is there a particular look you want?"

"I'm thinking… something blue! They'll bring out your eyes, I think."

"My eyes aren't blue, Mum."

"Of course not, silly, I know that. I'm saying it'll play out your colour." Rumiko lovingly took her daughter by the chin and stared at her face. "Unless of course you want purple. That could probably—"

"I hate purple."

"But you'd look good in it!"

"No, I wouldn't."

Rumiko put her hands on her hips. "Excuse me, honey, but I am Rumiko Makino. I've worked with the best of stylists. Of course I know what will look good on you."

The woman behind the counter brightened with recognition.

Rika rolled her eyes again.

"I still like blue though. Of course we'll need some new sunglasses to match. Your old ones are so—awful. I hate wearing sunglasses for more than a season. I'm thinking a light blue swimming costume with white-rimmed sunglasses. What do you think?" Rumiko turned to the saleslady for a response. Rika was about to say that she thought white-rimmed sunglasses looked cheap, but she knew her opinion wouldn't matter.

Rika could practically see the dollar signs in the saleswoman's eyes. "That sounds absolutely lovely, ma'am. We have a new selection of swimming costumes right here actually. And I can get out our collection of sunglasses—"

"What about this?" Rumiko excitedly dashed to a rack and pulled out a small light blue swimming costume. "Oh Rika, isn't it beautiful?"

"Brilli—" Rika looked up to see it, and she couldn't even let sarcasm do the talking. "Are you serious? That doesn't even look like a swimming costume! It looks like pieces of fabric left over after making a full one—"

"We'll take it!" Rumiko said excitedly, following the saleslady to the sunglasses.

"I am not wearing that!" Rika knew whatever she would say would be insignificant. If she refused, her mother would suddenly turn into a drama queen, calling herself a failure because her own daughter didn't love her.

"Rika, please, you're only saying that now because you haven't tried it on, but I already know this is going to absolutely knock Ryo's socks off! I'm a professional model, you know. I know these things."

"MUM!" Rika bellowed. "I do not want to knock Ryo's socks off! I want to knock the life out of him!"

"And you _will_, dear, with this!" Rumiko giggled, evidently not understanding her daughter's words. "Oh, to be young again… Oh, oops!" Rumiko giggled again. "I meant 'to be young_er_.'"

The saleswoman giggled with Rumiko. "Let me just lead you to our sunglasses now…"

* * *

TK smiled welcomingly, opening the door further to give his guest more room to walk in. "Hello, Takako... How are you?"

Takako giggled as she took off her coat. She stuffed it in his hands. "I've been _very _lonely without you."

He smiled weakly.

Giggling still, she stood on her toes and gave him a small peck on his lips.

TK stared at her, taken aback.

She giggled harder as she looked around. "So… is Kari here?"

Holding back any sort of rude gesture, he subtly wiped his lips with his fingers as he closed the door with his arm.

"Er, yeah, she's in the lounge…"

She looked annoyed, but he pretended not to notice.

"Takako!" Kari greeted friendlily.

TK quickly took Kari by her arm and pulled her in front of him. "See! Here she is! Kari."

Kari gave him a weird look, which he pretended not to notice.

Kari had agreed to forgive him on the condition he would cooperate and give Takako a chance.

He figured a couple hours of decency with Takako weren't quite as bad as two months with an angry flatmate.

"So, what should the _three_ of us do together?" he asked, smiling widely, his hand still on Kari's arm. He ignored the glare Takako was giving her arm. "I know! Monopoly! I brought my board!"

Takako frowned. "TK, I thought this was a… you and me thing. You know… a date?"

Kari smiled. "Oh, of course. I can leave you two lovebirds alone."

Takako looked delighted at Kari's choice of words.

"But we can't play Monopoly with only two people!" TK protested, giving Kari's arm a pleading squeeze.

"I'm sure we can think of other ways to preoccupy ourselves, babe," Takako purred, pulling his hand off Kari's arm. "How about a movie? _Mr and Mrs Smith_ is out."

"Oh, I heard that's a great movie!" Kari contributed.

TK's face fell. "Sounds like fun…"

"Everyone thinks I look like Angelina Jolie when I pucker my lips." Takako stuck her lips out. "What do you think?"

TK held in the horror in his mind, wondering how on Earth this girl could possibly compare herself to one of the hottest women alive. Exactly what did she see when she looked in the mirror?

"Er, the resemblance is striking. Really, Takako."

Takako gave another stream of high-pitched giggles before grabbing TK's arm. "Let's go, baby! Hopefully, they'll have a movie that starts soon!"

TK gave Kari another pleading look, which Kari returned with a smile.

"Don't get too frisky, you two!" Kari said in a singsong voice.

* * *

Ryo's eyes watched other people frolicking through the beach, looking as if they were having the greatest time of their life.

He, on the other hand, was left to merely watch them. His parents thought it would be "unkind" of him to go down there without Rika and forced him to wait in the confides of their suite until she and her mother returned from shopping.

He heard Rika's closet door open.

"Finally!" Ryo said, turning around. "Can we please go n—wow. You cannot be serious. Please tell me this is your sick idea of a joke."

Rika had put on, of all things, a trench coat.

"Rika, take that off right now. We are not going anywhere with you looking like…like _that_."

"Like what?" Rika challenged.

"You look like some sort of mad detective… or a prostitute."

Rika frowned as she put her sunglasses on. "Well, what do you care? It isn't like we're dating."

"I refuse to be associated with anybody who wears a bloody _coat_ to the beach!"

"Then you can walk behind me."

"Rika, take off the coat," Ryo seethed.

"Make me."

"Is that an invitation?" he asked dangerously. "I'll take you up on it."

Before she could answer, Rumiko burst into the room again. "Rika, I brought you—" She gasped dramatically. "Rika, what is that _thing_ you're wearing?"

"Burberry, Mum," Rika said smugly. "You bought it for me, and I finally found an occasion to wear it."

Rumiko frowned. "Honey, don't be smarmy. Come. Your mother will help you pick out a more appropriate outfit for the beach."

Rika let out an annoyed groan as Rumiko pulled her back into her closet. Ryo let out a sigh of relief. He had to admit Rumiko Makino was a bit on the crazy side, but at least she seemed more socially acceptable than her daughter.

* * *

"Thank God you have a sane mother," Ryo said as he and Rika walked out of the resort toward the beach. She had changed into a vest and shorts—infinitely better than a trench coat.

"Yes, a sane mother who forces her only daughter to vacation with a disgusting, hormonal male teenager," Rika grumbled.

"'Hormonal'?" Ryo repeated incredulously. "Rika, tell me the last time I even _pretended_ to have _any_ sort of interest in _you_!"

She disregarded his question, instead saying, "My mum saw the broken door, by the way. I told her it was your fault."

Ryo's jaw dropped. "Rika! You can't just blame me when you're the one who broke the door!"

"Or what?" Rika challenged. She smirked. "You aren't really all that without all your friends to back you up, are you? Actually, you're pretty pathetic."

"Jesus Christ," Ryo muttered angrily. "Look, I'm on holiday. I just want to have a good time. Come on." He stepped in front of her and held on a hand. "Truce. From now on, we're going to be civil with each other. Once school starts, we can pretend we don't know each other and these two weeks will be like they never existed. Fair?"

"Pathetic," Rika muttered as she shook his hand. "I'm doing this out of pity, by the way."

"I appreciate it," Ryo said through clenched teeth as Rika brushed past him.

* * *

"Get away from me, you freak!"

Ryo jumped backwards as Rika grabbed the other end of her towel and thrust it in the air. He coughed as sand flew to his face, letting go of his grip on it.

"I was trying to help you!" Ryo snapped, rubbing his stinging eyes.

"Stop trying." She gave the towel another flick towards his direction before she laid it out.

Ryo let out a deep breath to calm himself before he took out his own towel and spread it beside hers. He forced himself not to say a mean comment.

"Not too close! Are you obsessed with me or something?"

Gritting his teeth, he pushed it farther away.

"Did you even move it?"

Ryo pushed it further away.

Now, there was an awkward gap between them. It was short enough to let people know they were at the beach together, but long enough for people to question why they were so far apart.

"Rika, this is stupid."

She ignored him, giving him a dismissive nod.

He closed his eyes and took in another deep breath. He refused to let her ruin the beach. This was supposed to be relaxing. This was supposed to be stress relieving. This was supposed to be carefree.

He was determined to make it all of that, even without the help of a certain stubborn redhead.

"Ugh, you stole my bag!" he heard Rika bark. "Give it back! I need my sunscreen."

He opened his eyes, frowning. "Rika, I don't have your—" He had given a quick glance in his general area and saw Rika's bag beside him. Grumbling underneath his breath, he picked it up and tossed it in her direction.

She caught it and took out her bottle of sunscreen.

She then glared at him.

"What are you looking at, pervert?" she accused.

He rolled his eyes and flipped to his side, his back now facing Rika.

_As if._

* * *

TK shoved the box of popcorn between him and Takako. "Here, I got this for you."

As he had hoped, she let go of her grasp of his arm and seized a handful. "You are so thoughtful. You know, I'm really surprised that you're such a shy boy!"

He forced himself to laugh. "Ha-ha, yep. That's me."

She winked at him. "You can put your arm around me, if you want." She snuggled closer. "I don't mind."

He gently pushed her away and set the dividing armrest down between them. "Actually, I like using these things."

She giggled and put it back up. "You're cute, TK."

"Oh, but I'm being serious." He reached out to pull it down again, but Takako grabbed his arm and forced it over her shoulders.

"No, I insist," she said firmly.

He shifted uncomfortably. "Er, I don't really like getting so touchy—"

"Shh, baby, the previews are starting!" she whispered, leaning her head back to cease all blood circulation to his hand.

Giving up, he let his hand go limp and checked the time on his mobile, praying the movie wouldn't be long.

* * *

Ryo opened his eyes, but the harsh glare of the afternoon sun forced him to close his eyes again.

He then felt a stinging pain from his right shoulder.

He opened his eyes again—slower this time—and saw he was on the beach.

He sat upright, feeling a bit groggy.

"Finally awake?"

He turned to his right and saw Rika lying on her stomach, reading a book.

"How long was I asleep?" he asked sleepily.

"I dunno," she answered dismissively.

"You took off your clothes," he noted.

"Well, this is a beach."

He smirked. "I thought you'd be too ashamed of your body or something."

"You should be the one who's ashamed." She turned to him and smiled. "You're a little burnt."

He looked at his shoulder and grew alarmed at seeing the dark red colour go from his shoulder down to his swimming trunks. "Rika! Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Because it's funny." She smiled again. "It's a nice improvement. It draws attention away from your ugliness, though I'm not sure if looking like a half-burnt freak is any better."

He touched his right cheek, which was hot to the touch.

"My face!"

"Yeah, you look good." She gave him another demeaning smirk before she turned her attention back to her novel.

He wanted to kick sand on her but was too busy freaking out over his current state.

"Oh, my God! Can I use some of your sunscreen?"

"It's for _before_ you burn, idiot."

He frowned. "Fine, well, I'm going inside and seeing if I can get anything for this."

"Okay."

He didn't move. "Are you coming?"

"Nope."

He groaned in his mind.

His parents had of course made him promise not to leave Rika alone.

"Your parents made you stay with me, huh?" she asked knowingly, eyes still transfixed on her novel.

"No."

"Go ahead then," she challenged.

He didn't move.

"Thought so." She smiled and stood up. "I'm going to go get ice cream."

For a moment, he was taken aback. While he had never thought of Rika as an ugly person, he still didn't expect her to have as nice of a body as she did.

He supposed it was from her mother's genes.

"What?" she asked darkly.

"Nice body."

She frowned immediately and kicked sand on him. "Pervert."

With that, she began to storm away towards the concession kiosk.

"And nice ass!" he shouted after her. "I can't wait to see that closer up in our bed later, babe!"

Passersby stared incredulously at them, though, to his surprise, Rika simply flicked him off without even turning her head.

If she was going to force him to burn to death on the beach, he was at least going to belittle her by treating her like a piece of meat—even if it meant she would beat him up later.

* * *

TK's arm felt rush of sweet relief as Takako finally got off of it, but the relief was only temporary as she seized his hand and easily pulled him off his chair. "Let's go eat!"

"Oh, er, I already—"

"Come on! We can't just let our date end so soon!"

He didn't answer, knowing it would fall on deaf ears, and simply let her drag him out of the theatre to the lobby.

"Hm, why don't we eat—"

She was interrupted by a blast of music, much to TK's delight. He grabbed his mobile from his pocket and gave Takako an apologetic look as he put the device to his ear. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me."

"Ryo?"

TK turned away from Takako. If Ryo could see him now, he would have died.

"What're you doing?"

"I'm at the cinema."

Ryo laughed. "With your new wife?"

"No. This girl named Takako. You, er, you don't know her." He flashed Takako an apologetic smile. "What're you doing?"

"I'm at the beach with that Rika bitch. She is fucking crazy."

"Oh, really? How?" He suddenly got a brilliant idea and continued before Ryo could reply. "You should just hit her or something." He looked at Takako and saw her expression had changed to one of shock. Satisfied, he added, "Yeah, just hit that stupid bitch and put her back in her place! She's just a girl! Tell her to shut up and go back to cooking and cleaning and—"

"What the _fuck_, TK?" Ryo interrupted.

"—And stuff like that. You know," TK continued. "Give her a good punch or two."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Ryo asked irritably. "Anyway, she—wait. She's back. Oh, hey Rika!"

TK heard a buzz that indicated Ryo had hung up on him.

He turned to Takako, smiling. If she had any sort of decency, she would leave him. "So, you said you wanted to get lunch?"

"TK! I cannot believe you just said all of that!"

TK shrugged. "Well, it's just my opinion. I just think females should know their place in the world as the playthings of males."

She grinned devilishly and grabbed him by the shoulders. "You… are so sexy."

His jaw nearly dropped.

"Yeah, talk to me like _that_, baby."

"I… I've to use to toilet," TK stuttered, pulling away. "Too much, er, Coke."

* * *

"Oh, hey Rika." Ryo shut his mobile and looked up at Rika. Just to annoy her, he purposely talked to her chest.

"You're so perverted!" She crossed her arms over her chest as she sat back down on her towel. "Keep doing that and I'll punch your eye so hard, you'll never be able to see again!"

"Just being a guy." He grinned. "Besides, you're practically asking for it. Putting on such a slutty swimming costume and walking around to get ice cream? You obviously just wanted my attention, so I'm giving you some."

"I'm serious! Stop being disgusting!"

To show she was being serious, she reached over and slapped his burnt shoulder.

His eyes grew wide though no audible noise came out of his mouth.

"Cheap bitch," he muttered under his breath.

"_Excuse me_?"

"I didn't say anything."

She punched him this time.

"Ow!" He scowled as he protectively clutched his shoulder. "I meant hitting my burn was a cheap shot!"

"Whatever, jackass." She turned her head away from him and took a lick of her ice cream. "Now that I have this ice cream, I could stay here all afternoon! You don't mind, do you?" She faced him again and cocked a fake smile.

In a flash of anger and without thinking anything through, Ryo found himself getting up from his position towards her. He grabbed the cone from her hand and slammed it on top of her hair.

"Piss off, Rika. I'm going inside."

* * *

TK could have died.

"Oh, h-hey, Hina."

Hina Itou stood over his and Takako's table, a disapproving look tainting her beautiful face.

"Hello," she replied curtly. "And who is this lovely girl?"

Takako also seemed to have switched moods, a deep, creasing frown and dark glare shooting in Hina's direction.

"Er, this is Takako," TK tried. "Care to—er—care to join us?"

"TK, babe, I thought this was supposed to be a date."

"A what?" Hina asked sharply. "Oh, I didn't know you were dating, TK." She shot TK another judgmental look before smiling fakely at Takako. TK bit his straw and pretended to concentrate on drinking his water. "Nice to meet you. Hina. His ex."

Takako darkened further. "Takako. His girlfriend."

TK choked on his water, and his instinct made him turn to his side.

"Ew!" Hina screamed as water sprayed her, jumping a little. "TK, that's so gross!"

He continued coughing while shaking his head. "Cough—er, no—cough—we aren't—cough—she isn't my—cough—girlfriend."

"Oh, I see. Let me help you." Hina smirked as she slid in the booth beside him, gently patting his back. "Poor thing."

"Thanks," TK muttered.

"TK, I think it'd be better if we ate somewhere else," Takako said authoritatively.

"Oh, don't mind me," Hina purred, suddenly scooting closer to him. "We dated for a while, but we're just good friends now, aren't we, TK?" She ran her fingers through his hair. "So messy."

He moved his head out of the way to notice how angry Takako looked, and he was almost scared for what she would do. Hina wasn't weak, but Takako seemed ferocious.

Hina didn't seem to mind. "How long did we date for again, TK? I can never remember."

"Er, a long time," TK answered airily, trying to stand up. "Hey, Hina, can I talk to you for a second? Over there?"

Despite Takako's protests, he grabbed her arm and pushed her off their booth before taking her towards the toilets.

"Cute girlfriend," Hina jeered when they were out of Takako's earshot.

His face fell. "I'm being blackmailed!"

She rolled her eyes. "Blackmailed? By who?"

"N-nobody," he answered dismissively. "Look, I just want to go home. Can you do me a favour?"

"Let me get this straight." She crossed her arms. "You ignore my calls, never ask me to hang out and practically treat me like I don't exist all holiday. And now that I see you with this… this _joke_, you want _me_ to do _you_ a _favour_? Why don't you try again, TK?"

He had always been a little intimidated by Hina's attitude.

He gave her a smile and held her shoulders. "Hina, you know she isn't my type. She's holding me here against my own will. Please, _please_ do me a favour? I'll do anything."

She raised an eyebrow. "Anything?"

"Hina," he warned.

She smirked. "Tell me what you want first."

"I want her to think I'm the worst person ever," he explained. "Can you just stay with us and, er, help me get rid of her? You know, flirt with me and stuff. Make it look like I'm interested in you instead of her."

She frowned. "Why don't you just tell her that you aren't interested?"

"Because she scares me!" he admitted hurriedly.

"You're such a little girl," Hina accused. "What kind of a man is scared to tell a girl he doesn't like her?"

"I'll buy you dinner," he bargained.

"Fine, I'll do it, but only because you're so cute." She belittlingly gave him a light pinch on the cheek, which she knew annoyed him. "And let me do the talking, darling. No offence, TK, but you're too obvious when you're lying."

* * *

"I hope you don't mind me joining you two," Hina said sweetly as she slid into the spot next to TK in their booth.

Takako looked at Hina disapprovingly. "We're kind of on a date."

"The more the better," TK said awkwardly, meriting a look from Hina.

"I couldn't just let TK date anyone, you know," Hina started, nudging him to tell him to stop talking. "He and I go way back, you know."

"We dated," TK explained.

"I already said that earlier," Hina reminded him, opening up a menu. "TK, you'll pay for me, right?"

"Of course!" he said awkwardly.

She smiled smugly at Takako for a second before glancing down at the menu.

"TK, I think maybe three's a crowd," Takako warned.

"Er, nonsense. Hina's my _really_ good friend," he emphasised. "We're siblings now, practically."

Hina pinched him.

"I wouldn't call us siblings though, _TK_," she said dangerously, though her smile was in tact. She turned to Takako. "We're each very special to each other. We were each other's first loves."

"Er, yeah," TK agreed.

"I really think maybe we should go, TK," Takako repeated angrily. Takako was practically fuming, and for another moment he worried for Hina's safety.

"Don't be so jealous," Hina said bluntly. "You couldn't possibly think for one second that TK likes _you_ over me."

"Oh yeah?" Takako seethed, staring at TK for an answer that never came.

Hina faced TK again, and he felt his cheeks flush at the sight of her so close, staring at him. "You know, TK. It wasn't that long ago that we broke up…"

He froze, not knowing how to respond as she got closer.

"Now that you're with another girl, it's made me realise how much I really miss you."

She closed her eyes and closed the gap between them with a small peck, but it was enough so that TK felt a wave of familiarity rush through him. He knew he shouldn't be enjoying it. He knew he should pull away. He knew Hina was only doing it for show.

But he couldn't stop himself.

His hand reached her face, bringing her in closer to intensify the kiss. He opened his mouth to hers as she put her own arms around his neck, pulling him closer towards her. He usually hated PDA, but right now he didn't care. After so long, he had her back. Hina was his again, and she—

"Are you done?" Takako screamed suddenly, standing up. "You're such a jerk, TK! I can't believe you put on some stupid front for me. Well, if you're so interested in this skinny little bitch, have fun, because the two of us are through!"

She threw her drink at him for good measure before storming away, but he was too stunned to do anything about it.

"She's crazy," Hina concluded, dabbing his face with a napkin.

He looked at her too. "She threw her drink at me!"

"You kind of deserved it," Hina teased. "Come on, let's go get you cleaned up." She took him by the hand as she slid out of the booth, smirking. "By the way, TK. That was one hell of a kiss. It makes me wonder why we even broke up in the first place."

* * *

Rika walked out of the bathroom freshly showered, though her anger hadn't subsided. She gave Ryo a nasty look before heading straight towards her bed.

"Rika—"

"Do _not_ talk to me."

Neither had said anything since the incident from the afternoon, but Ryo was the first to talk to the other.

A bit surprising, since Ryo's parents had yelled at him for approximately an hour about why he shouldn't throw anything at a girl.

"Don't be dramatic, Rika. You asked for it."

She shot him another look. "Nice burn."

After applying copious amounts of aloe vera gel, he found his burn only unbearable to look at.

"Good one." He threw a pad of paper and a pen on her bed from his couch. "Our parents said we have to write at least five positive things about each other before we go to bed."

She threw the paper back at him, aiming for his head, but he caught them both. "You can make it up. I'm going to bed."

She watched as he got up from the couch and stormed to her bed, where he sat down firmly. "No. I'm not going to be your little bitch, so get off your bum and write five things you like about me!"

"Get off my bed, Akiyama."

He would have challenged her, but he knew now that she wasn't above beating him up. "Rika, I'm serious. Let's just act civil for five minutes and—"

"Fine," she interrupted. "You don't take up much space, you know when to shut up, you don't smell that bad, you've got nice hair and eyes. Good night."

Rika rolled over and shut her eyes.

Ryo, shocked at how smoothly that went—in a relative sense—sat there, irritation replaced by intrigue. He grinned and leaned over her head.

"You think I've got nice eyes?"

He felt her stiffen, and she opened her right eye. "No, but I couldn't think of anything else."

He grinned wider. "You're lying. You think I'm hot, don't you?"

She frowned. "Can you _not_ breathe on me, first of all, and, no, I don't. I said you had one good feature, not that you're good-looking as a whole."

"You said two good features. You liked my hair too," he pointed out.

"I meant the colours were nice," Rika clarified, her tone hinting an increasing level of irritation. "Get over yourself. I can't say one good thing about you?"

"Not like that, no." He chuckled. "Rika Makino, I never thought I'd see the day when you'd admit that you think I'm hot."

Rika sat up, surprising Ryo to back away. "Stop putting words in my mouth. And, seriously, go away. Your breath is making me nauseous."

She pushed him away from her, and he stepped off the bed, smirking.

"Whatever. You can be embarrassed if you want." He picked up the pad of paper and pen. "But I know you think I'm hot."

"Turn off the light."

* * *

"Thanks for the help," TK said again when they had reached Hina's apartment complex.

"For the millionth time, it was no problem." She smirked. "Although, I guess you did need me after all. You're the worst actor of all time. I can't believe how awkward you were."

He laughed lowly. "Yeah, I guess."

She put a hand to his cheek. "You really are cute, TK."

He frowned. She knew he hated when she called him that, but she always said it anyway. It made him feel like a little kid.

"Anyway, it was nice to feel like your girlfriend again," she said with a small smile. "It made me remember how good to me you were."

"Yeah," he said, though he said it more to just say it than actually agreeing with you.

"Hope you don't mind my little kiss there," she continued. "It wasn't inappropriate or anything, was it?"

He smiled back. "No, it got rid of her at least, right?"

She nodded and returned his smile with one of her own.

She really was beautiful, and for a moment, he missed her again.

"If you ever need me to scare away any more unwanted girls, I'm only a call away," Hina concluded. "I'm going to go ahead."

He put his hands in his pockets and nodded. "All right. Good night."

"Hey, aren't you going to give me a hug at least?" she asked, feigning offence. "I did do all this work for you!"

He laughed as he reached out to hug her. "Whatever, Hina. You and I both know you enjoyed doing it."

"Maybe," she said, pulling away. She looked at him more solemnly. "Er, so, do you know how Ryo's doing?"

He tried not to frown at the change in subject, and he put his hands back in his pockets. "He's in Australia."

"I know, but… I just haven't heard from him in a while." She shrugged. "Tell him to call me sometime."

He cleared his throat. "Yeah, I will."

She smiled again. "Good night TK."

"Bye Hina."


	7. Choosing the Right Girl

**Hating You  
**Squit Ayumin

**Chapter 7: Choosing the Right Girl**

Kari smiled, holding back a look of disgust—as mean as she felt for saying like that.

On the threshold of her flat, Takako stood jogging in place in a hideous, skin-tight, sea foam green-coloured dungaree.

"Is TK here?" Takako asked with a tinge of dislike in her voice. "He told me he liked to work out, so I thought maybe he'd like to run with me today."

Kari yawned quietly and opened the door to their flat invitingly. "He's sleeping, but I'll go get him."

Kari had meant for Takako to wait in the lounge, but she found her following her to TK's room.

"He has his own room, right?" Takako asked suspiciously as Kari knocked on his door.

"Yes, of course. My room's over there." She pointed out the room across the hall. She knocked on his door once more when he didn't answer. "TK?"

Takako's head shot closer to the door.

"TK, darling, it's me!"

She opened the door and burst into the room.

Kari was shocked by her audacity, but it quickly subsided as Takako let out a delighted squeal.

"How precious is he!"

TK was lying on his bed, looking rather peaceful in his sleep. Despite the cold weather outside, he had slept in a t-shirt and boxers, his blanket covering every part of his bed but his own body.

"Baby!"

TK's eyes shot open as Takako threw herself on the bed, sitting beside him and giving his shoulder a rub.

"Wh—wha?" He looked confused and groggy for a moment, but then let out a yell. "What are you two doing here?"

He grabbed his covers and pulled it to his neck.

"Aw, are you being modest?"

"Get out!" he said frantically. "I could have been naked!"

"Mm," Takako purred suggestively. "I decided to give you another chance. I realised you were only being nice to your psycho ex-girlfriend because you're just the sweetest thing, aren't you, my little buttercup?"

Kari took Takako by the arm. "Er, let's just… let him change."

With that, she tried to pull Takako out of his room.

"Your girlfriend wants to go running," she explained once Takako was out. "Wake up and get ready."

TK looked confused, but Kari shut his bedroom door.

It'd hit him eventually.

* * *

He couldn't believe it.

Even after yesterday's incident with Hina, Takako had returned.

At 8:00 AM, no less.

He let out an annoyed groan and lied back down. There was no getting rid of her!

She had even shown up in a terrible… whatever it was that she had decided to wear.

He yawned, making his way to his wardrobe to find something decent.

Really, she and Kari were too much.

A shriek echoed throughout the flat, instantly waking TK. The sound of breaking glass immediately followed. Panicked, he raced outside.

"What's wrong?"

Another shriek.

"I can't believe it!" Takako screeched, pointing at his front door. "It's Matt Ishida!"

Sure enough, standing outside his open door, his older brother was scowling with disapproval, a plastic bag hanging from his fingers.

Beside him was Tai, who was also frowning. He held a bigger plastic bag. In his left hand was a can of soda, dangerously tilted to one side.

"TK," Tai started slowly, "I'm going to have to ask you to wear more suitable pyjamas to bed. You're living with _my_ sister, remember."

How could he forget?

"Er, I was in the middle of changing," TK explained nervously.

"My _underage_ sister," Tai continued. "Don't think I won't report you to the authorities if I find out you try something perverted." He scowled further. "That is, if you manage to survive my killing you."

"Really, TK," Matt added, "can't you look more decent? You're embarrassing."

By Matt's tone, it was clear he wasn't fully awake either. He suppressed a yawn while giving Tai a hateful look.

To draw attention to her existence, Takako let out another ear-piercing wail.

"CAN I HAVE YOUR AUTOGRAPH?" She seized a pad of paper from a stand and stuck it under Matt's nose. "I'M YOUR BIGGEST FAN!"

"Of course." TK could tell Matt was trying very hard not to look as annoyed as he actually was. "Are you Kari's friend?"

"No," Kari answered defensively. "She's TK's new girlfriend."

Silence.

Tai blinked. "His what?"

"His girlfriend," she repeated. She smiled nicely to Takako. "Please meet our brothers. This is my brother, Tai, and I assume you already know TK's brother."

"You two are… _brothers_?"

"She's your _girlfriend_?" Matt blurted.

Tai covered his mouth with his hand, though his trembling arms gave him away. He was laughing.

"I can't believe I'm dating Matt Ishida's brother!" Takako squealed. "Wait until I tell everyone!"

"You know, my brother happens to be single," TK hinted.

She gasped and pushed TK away with a pudgy hand.

He found she was quite strong, and he stumbled back a little.

"I'm always looking for an upgrade," she cooed to Matt, grasping his free arm. "TK's nice and all, but he's way too prude, if you know what I mean."

TK found himself being somewhat grateful for that comment, as it meant Tai wouldn't be so suspicious of him.

Not that Tai seemed to be thinking of how indecent of a flatmate TK was at the moment, too busy shuddering with muffled delight. Kari gave him a disapproving nudge, and he tried to be subtler by taking a drink of his soda.

"I, er, I…" Matt stuttered.

"I think we'd make some gorgeous babies."

Tai's Coke spew out of his mouth and landed on the right side of Matt's head and shoulder. Matt was too astonished to react to both Takako and Tai, the latter who had started to crack up mercilessly on Kari's shoulder.

TK too felt the desire to laugh, but he held it in to lessen future consequences.

"I completely agree!" Tai contributed between laughs. "Matt, I think you've found your one."

Takako looked delighted, beaming. She nuzzled her head on Matt's chest.

"Eugh!" Matt yelled, dropping his plastic bag. He peeled her hold of his arm and practically threw her out the door. "Get away from me! And stay the hell away from TK!"

"No, Matt! Please! I'm your biggest fan! I'm your—TK, do something! I'm your bigge—"

He shut the door on her face.

For a while there was heavy pounding on the door, but a glare from Matt warned nobody to open it.

He then shot a death look at his brother. "What the _hell_ was that?"

"That was the best damn day of my life," Tai answered.

"She's Kari's twisted idea of a joke," TK corrected darkly.

Matt frowned. "Well, no brother of mine is going to date anyone like that. I disapprove. Break up with her at once."

"Gladly." TK smiled smugly at Kari. "Here that, Kari?"

"Really, you two so shallow," Tai teased, grinning. "She seemed like a nice girl."

Matt frowned. "Anyway, Tai thought we should check up on you two, so we brought breakfast."

"And by the looks of things, it's a good thing we paid you two a little visit." Tai turned serious again. "TK, put on some clothes this instant. I'm literally giving you thirty seconds."

* * *

"I can't believe this," TK muttered, lowering his baseball cap to cover his eyes—eyes already covered by sunglasses. "I can't believe this."

"Will you stop repeating yourself?" Kari snapped. "It's so annoying."

TK scowled. "Annoying? You're calling _me_ annoying? Annoying is you setting me up on a speed dating system! I can't do this!"

"TK, you're acting like a baby."

He clamped a hand over her mouth. "Sh! Don't call me by my name!"

"Fine, _Takeru_. Time Café is this way."

For a split moment, he looked at her curiously.

Kari quickly turned away, grabbing TK's hand. "Hurry up!"

"I don't want to do this!" He withdrew his hand.

She glared at him. "TK, stop being a brat. I actually picked girls I think you'll like, so you don't have to worry about anymore Takako incidents. And take off those ridiculous sunglasses!"

"Kari," he snarled, "for the last time, I'm capable of finding my own girlfriend!"

She crossed her arms. "Speaking of, what ex-girlfriend was Takako talking about this morning? The 'psycho' one?"

He didn't answer the question.

"Hina?" she guessed.

"Instead of asking me all these personal questions, can we just go home and—"

"I didn't know you thought she was psychotic," Kari pressed.

"I don't," he said darkly. "She was helping me out. Now, please, Kari, I'll—"

"Here we are!" she interrupted, opening the door to the café for him. "After you."

* * *

Kari had forced him in a booth, and they were waiting. Kari seemed at ease as she ordered some drinks, but TK was scanning the room every few minutes to make sure nobody he knew would enter.

The café Kari had chosen happened to be one of the most frequented spots of their school, and although everyone was on holiday, he couldn't help but feel somebody he knew would walk in at any second. After all, it had happened yesterday with Hina.

"TK, take off your stupid disguise," Kari hissed. "You're only drawing more attention to yourself."

He ignored her, staring around the room as he took another sip of his water.

He needed to leave. Somehow.

"Oh, there they are!" Kari exclaimed, standing up and waving an arm at the four girls who had entered the café. They took note of Kari's waves and started to make their way to the table.

"Kari, I'm leaving."

Kari frowned. "No, you aren't. This took me a lot of time to do, and you—"

"Kari, I'm done playing your stupid game!" he snapped, standing up. "I'm not doing this, and you can't make me. I don't care if you tell Tai and he kills me. This is dumb, and—"

"Hello," chorused the new girls.

"Wow, you _are_ cute," one of them said, nodding approvingly at Kari.

Kari took his arm, trying to pull him down. "This is TK. He's—"

He wiggled away from her grasp. "I'm sorry. I have to go."

He politely waved goodbye to the girls before he walked out, ignoring Kari calling his name.

* * *

TK cringed slightly as the door to their flat slammed shut.

"TK! TK TAKAISHI!"

"I'm right here. No need to yell," he said matter-of-factly from the kitchen.

It was the loudest he had ever heard her.

"What is _wrong_ with you? Do you know how embarrassing that was? I had to tell four girls that I invited them out for nothing!"

"Not as embarrassing as it was for me to actually be there, I'm sure."

He put another crisp in his mouth as she began yelling at him. He felt bad for doing so, but he didn't pay attention to what she was actually saying. He could only assume it was something along the lines of her hating him even more.

"I told my mum that we'd get married," TK said finally, when she had stopped to take a breath.

"_WHAT_?"

"I told my mum that we'd get married," TK repeated calmly. "I—" He stopped short as Kari's hand slapped him straight across the face. His eyes widened. "You slapped me!"

"Who ever said I wanted to marry you?" she screamed. "Why would you even think about telling your mother that? What's wrong with you? You're ruining my life, TK!"

"You slapped me!" he repeated accusingly. "I cannot believe you just slapped me!"

"I'll do it again," she warned. "You… you _asshole_!"

"Hey!" he snapped. "I'm not the one torturing you with Takako or speed dates! If we get married, we can just divorce right afterwards. Or maybe we'll find somebody else before then. I don't know what's going to happen, but I sure as hell know I'm sick of playing your game."

"Then I'll stop!" she screamed. "I don't want my future husband to know that I was randomly married for ten minutes. Marriage is important to me. TK, you know that!"

"No, I don't," he replied coldly. "And even if it is, that doesn't mean I'm going to torture myself just so that you can live out the life you thought up for yourself when you were eight. I'm not your little plaything! I'm not your anything, and you aren't anything to me either. So let's just get this bullshit over with, and we can get on with our lives!"

He had said the last part without meaning to. He knew he shouldn't have said it, but getting _slapped_ across the face made him angrier than he had expected.

"You've turned into such an asshole," she said icily after a while, pushing him with a force he had once again not expected. His bag of crisps fell to the floor, and he almost said something but Kari stormed out of the kitchen before he had a chance.

"Hey, where are you going?" he snapped when she opened the door.

"I'm going home. I'm not staying here and getting harassed by you."

"You're the one who started this whole thing!" He grabbed Kari's wrist when she didn't turn around. "You can't just le—"

"WATCH! ME!" she shrieked to his face, pulling her arm from his grasp. He grabbed onto it again, but she slammed the door on it, causing him to yelp in pain and let go. "Don't touch me, TK. I'm serious. Don't follow me either."

"You can't just leave!" he snapped. "What the hell am I supposed to—"

"Figure it out then," she hissed. "I'm not your anything, remember?"

With that, she slammed the door again.

TK looked at the door for a moment, contemplating whether he should follow her anyway. By the time he had almost reached a verdict, he concluded that it was far too late anyway and walked back into the kitchen to clean the mess, his arm stinging in pain.


	8. Past Memories

**Hating You  
**Squit Ayumin

**Chapter 8: Past Memories**

Rika sighed, flipping another page of her newspaper.

"…And so I was ten when my mum died. My father remarried when I was fifteen, which is when I moved to Tokyo…"

Her mother and Mrs Akiyama had suggested they share their life stories in order to understand each other better. So, they were sitting across each other from their kitchenette table, Ryo having the first go at his tale.

As of now, Rika found no reason to like him any more than she did.

He glanced at the sheet of paper that would reveal the flavour of his jellybeans. "Yuck, liquorice." He set the candy back in the box.

"Gross," Rika muttered.

"I know. I hate liquorice."

"I mean you touching it and putting it back!" Rika snapped.

He ignored her. "And the rest of my life story I'm sure you've heard from school. Your turn."

She narrowed her eyes. "You're pretty emotionless over telling me about your dead mother."

"I've gotten over it." His fingers moved along the jellybean box, seeking out certain colours. "I claim the blue raspberry ones."

"Maybe she hated you to death," she pressed.

"Maybe."

She frowned. "You're heartless."

"You're the one telling me that my mother died of hating me." He rolled his eyes. "Your turn."

"Hmph."

Rika wasn't about to play this game. No way. Ryo Akiyama had no business in her life.

* * *

"Dang, TK, that's one heck of a bruise," his friend said piteously.

"She bloody slammed our front door on my arm!" TK explained, rolling his sleeve back down. "I thought I was going to die! Who does that?"

Cody shrugged. "You must have been a real jerk if she did that. She always seems so nice at school. I can't see her doing something like that."

TK grew annoyed, though he knew Cody wasn't trying to annoy him.

"She's crazy," TK mumbled.

"I don't know. Maybe you should just apologise."

"Apologise?" TK spat. "I don't want to apologise to her, Cody. I want to give her a piece of my mind!" He quickly added, "But her older brother is scary and will beat the crap out of me."

Cody gave a slight smile. "I don't know. If you're going to live with her for a couple months, the least you guys can do is try and get along, right? Who knows? Maybe she's sorry too."

TK scowled. "Yeah right. Good joke, Cody."

* * *

TK placed the sincerest smile he could conjure up. "Good afternoon, Mrs Kamiya! Is Kari here?"

Kari's mother looked delighted to see him, her eyes shifting to the bouquet of flowers in TK's hand.

"Oh, my goodness! TK, you are too sweet! Please, come inside." She sighed. "Kari's been looking a tad upset since last night, but she hasn't told me why. Have you any idea what's wrong with her? She wouldn't even tell Tai!"

At the mention of Tai's name, TK felt a rush of panic sweep through his system.

Tai was a nice guy, but only when the wellbeing of his little sister was intact.

"Tai's here?" he asked before clearing his throat. "Er, if Kari's not feeling well, I could always come back—"

"Oh, don't worry about her. I just made some brownies. Would you like one?" Without waiting for an answer, she called, "Kari! TK's here to see you!"

"I'm not here!" came her response.

Mrs Kamiya smiled. "She'll come around. I'm going to go grocery shopping, but you can stay. After all, you're practically family."

She winked and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Oh, no, it's fine. I can just…"

TK's words drifted as he saw Tai walking out of the kitchen.

"Hey kid."

"Tai! I, er, I was just leaving."

"Why?" he asked. "Stay. Mum made brownies!"

Tai smiled. TK wondered for a moment if it was a I'm-going-to-kill-you-when-my-mum-leaves sort of smile or just a genuine one.

"That, er, that sounds… great."

Mrs Kamiya seemed satisfied. "Well then, have fun you two! I hope Kari joins you soon!"

TK stared at her back as she left the flat, hoping he could telepathically tell her not to leave him to die in the hands of her son.

TK was actually capable of defending himself, but he doubted he could take on a guy like Tai.

In fact, scratch that. He _knew_ he couldn't.

"Flowers?" Tai queried, looking at the bouquet in TK's hand.

"They're, er, for Kari… I guess…"

Tai raised an eyebrow. "Why are you so nervous?"

"Nervous? Do I sound nervous? I'm not nervous!" TK laughed nervously.

Tai didn't respond.

TK cleared his throat and thrust the bouquet towards Tai. "Er… here."

He didn't know why he had offered them to Tai.

"You shouldn't have," he joked, not accepting them.

"They're, er, for Kari. I should go, but if you could—"

"Come on," Tai interrupted, walking to the kitchen. "Stay and try some of my mum's crap."

Not knowing exactly how to tell Tai that he didn't want to without risking Tai's wrath, TK set the bouquet back to his side and slowly walked into the dreaded kitchen.

* * *

"You jackass!" Tai bellowed, throwing a rock-hard brownie at TK's eye. "You're fucking dead for what you did to my sister!"

TK's left eye widened in panic. "But I—I didn't—what did I—"

"Shut the fuck up!"

Tai then proceeded to use his entire strength to hit TK on the side of the head with the brownie pan, throwing TK to the ground. His head pounding, TK guessed it was because his brain had split open from the force.

Kari was standing by the kitchen entrance, arms crossed. "See what happens when you mess with _me_, TK!"

"But I didn't do anything!"

"Didn't I just tell you to shut up?"

Tai used his soccer legs to give TK a swift, hard kick to the ribs.

And then he died of internal bleeding.

* * *

"TK?"

Reality set back in, and he jumped as he saw Tai waving a plate of brownies in front of him. "Tai!"

"TK!" Tai mimicked good-naturedly. "What's wrong?"

TK touched his rib. They were intact. He touched the side of his head. It didn't hurt.

He let out a sigh of relief as he reassured Tai and took a brownie from the plate.

It had only been a daydream.

"Come on. Eat up!"

Tai then hit him directly on his bruise. The touch was so unbearable that he almost felt his eyes water in pain.

Whether Tai had hit him there on purpose, TK did not know.

* * *

Rika rolled her eyes.

After their life story bonding experience ended up in failure, their parents forced them to get lunch together.

Of course Ryo made her walk to the other end of the world to visit his "favourite" restaurant—which happened to be some run-down shack.

"You didn't eat anything," Ryo pointed out as they left the restaurant. "Diet?"

She scowled. "For the millionth time, I can't eat grilled meat until dinnertime."

"So, you're on a diet," he concluded. "Who knew you cared about your body so much?"

"I'm not on a diet,, I just don't like eating it before dinnertime," she snapped.

He smirked. "Suit yourself."

Lunch had gone by passably. Rika had simply sat there with her arms crossed, occasionally cursing at a fly.

Ryo preferred her quiet. At least she was pretty.

He wanted to also point out that she was following him—because she was—but decided he didn't want to handle any more of her dramatic tantrums.

"Can we go home now?" she whinged.

"Nah," came his only reply.

He stopped in front of a vending machine. As expected, she impatiently stopped with him, her perpetual scowl in place.

He pretended to be very interested in the selection.

"Hurry up!" she snapped.

"Rika, Rika, Rika," he said sympathetically. "If you keep yelling at me, I just might have to take the long way back to our cosy little hotel."

She let out a frustrated. "Honestly, how do you even have friends? You're the most annoying person on the planet!"

"I could ask the same for you. Your personality is that of a stump."

"Well, first of all, I don't treat my friends like—"

"'_Friend_,'" Ryo corrected matter-of-factly, inserting some coins into the machine.

Rika frowned. "You are such a jackass."

He reached below to get his can and tossed it at Rika. "Just telling the truth. Coffee?"

Frowning, Rika opened the can and held it out to the side, upside-down, so that the contents splattered onto the sidewalk.

He smirked as he inserted more money. "Who's the jackass now?"

She threw the empty can at him. "Cut the bullshit, Akiyama. Tell me how to get home?"

"Home? Why?" he asked behind laughing eyes. "I'm not ready to go back yet, are you?"

* * *

TK's eyes shifted up as Kari finally walked into the kitchen.

"Oh, hey Kari!" Tai greeted happily. "Have a brownie! Mum made some!"

Kari thanked her brother but chose to ignore TK completely.

Cursing at her under his breath, TK took a large bite of his brownie.

"So, what'd TK do now that's gotten you so angry?" Tai asked loudly.

TK then proceeded to swallow the bite he had taken whole.

He coughed violently. He felt his head grow in colour and pressure and began to hit his chest with his fist.

Tai and Kari, he noticed, simply watched him.

He reached for a drink, only to notice he didn't have one. He coughed even more violently.

"What's wrong with you?" Tai asked solemnly.

* * *

Kari had given in first. After what seemed like a century, she finally came to TK's aid, offering him her milk. She even patted his back as he drank it.

He managed to gasp a thank-you after his final coughs, but Kari simply got up and sat back in her place at the table.

Tai ignored the entire scene.

"So, don't you have something to give to my sister?" Tai asked matter-of-factly, setting the tray back down.

"Oh!" TK took the bouquet of flowers from the table and held them out awkwardly to Kari. He cleared his throat when she didn't look up. "…Kari?"

She finally glanced at him.

"Er…" He looked at Tai, who had his eyes fixed on him. He quickly turned around again. "I'm really sorry… about what I said… yesterday…"

"You call _that_ an apology?" he heard Tai mutter.

"Please come home?" TK guessed somewhat pathetically.

* * *

"_Takeru! Takeru! Guess what!"_

_TK, then thirteen, froze at the sound of his best friend's voice._

_He hurriedly threw his books into his locker and shut the door, hoping to slip away before she could reach—_

"_Hello?" Kari asked, annoyed, as she appeared beside him. She waved a hand in front of his face. "I'm talking to you! I got an A on my diagnostic test. High school is going to be great! Did you make the basketball team again?"_

"_Er, yeah," he answered dismissively._

"_What?" She smiled widely. "That's so wonderful! I'm so happy for you!"_

_He smiled weakly, but even that faded when he saw his new teammates walking towards him._

"_I have to go," he said, a tinge of panic in his voice. "I'll see you later, Kari."_

"_Where are you going? I was hoping we could walk home—"_

"_Takaishi!"_

_Too late. TK stood helplessly as his teammates made their way to him._

"_Ooh, introduce me!" Kari whispered._

"_Ah…"_

_One of the older boys on the team, the captain, sneered at Kari once they got to them. "You're… Kari Kamiya, right?"_

"_Hi!" Kari greeted friendlily. "Yes, I am."_

"_Tai Kamiya's kid sister?"_

_She nodded._

_He scoffed, "Soccer."_

_She looked confused._

"_We don't associate with the soccer team," he said. "That especially includes bratty sisters of Kamiya. Come on, Takaishi. Let's go."_

_Kari's smile disappeared, replaced with one of anger._

"_What? Takeru's _my_ friend. Come on. You don't need this jerk."_

"_Ah…"_

"_Big brother isn't around to make calls around here anymore. The basketball team will be put back in its proper place as the sport of this school." The captain smirked. "Come on, Takaishi."_

"_This is over some stupid competition? Forget it! Takeru isn't that superficial!" Kari retorted confidently. "Besides, my brother happens to be a friend of Takeru, isn't he?"_

"_Er…"_

_The captain frowned. "Takaishi, we're going to go eat. Are you coming or not?"_

"_Of course not!"_

_TK looked apologetically at Kari. "I'm sorry, Kar. I'll, er, I'll see you around…"_

_Without looking at her response, he walked towards his new friends. Though he couldn't see Kari's response, he saw the captain giving Kari a triumphant smile before turning to let TK walk behind him._

"'_Takeru'? What a little kid name. It has to go, Takaishi."_

* * *

"I still can't believe you wouldn't pay for my bus fare when I paid for your lunch _and_ your coffee!" Ryo uncomfortably wrapped his arm around a support pole, his legs bracing themselves on the floor of the wobbly bus. "The least you could do is give me your seat."

She irritably pushed his stomach. "Get your nasty body away from me!"

Ryo swayed backwards, which resulted in other annoyed people pushing him straight back to where he had come from. He stumbled.

"Rika, I know you like to think the universe revolves around you and all, but this is a crowded bus, so don't—"

"I said go away!" Rika snapped, pushing him harder.

"Piss off!" another rider yelled. He threw Ryo's body back to its place, resulting in him hitting his head on the pole.

"Ow!" Though he wanted to do it a lot harder, he lightly kicked Rika's ankle. "Stop it!"

"OW!" she cried loudly.

"Why are you so socially unacceptable?" He took her arm and tried to pull her up. "Come on! Get up!"

"No!"

"Let the old woman sit down, Rika!"

Rika immediately stood up and looked around for said woman. Ryo took the opportunity to quickly switch places with her.

"I don't see—Hey!"

"Thanks."

Rika frowned. She opened her mouth and yelled, "STOP THE BUS!"

Passengers screamed as the bus driver stopped abruptly. He did not seem amused either. "Hey, what's the big idea?"

"Rika, what the hell are you doing?"

Rika raised her arm. "Sorry! That was me! I just realised I got on the wrong bus!"

Ryo stared as Rika stealthily made her way through the crowd and out of the bus. He looked outside the window. "Rika!"

He got off his seat and tried to follow suit, but people seemed more gracious to move for a lost girl than a panicked guy, such as himself.

"Oops! Sorr—"

A piercing screech deafened him.

"You touched me!"

Ryo looked down to see a young girl—probably in middle school—pointing accusingly at him.

"There's a pervert on the bus!"

Nobody in the bus seemed to care.

"What? I—"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

She slapped him across the face.

"What the f—"

"PERVERT!" she shrieked again, now slapping him everywhere else.

"I didn't even touch you, you little brat!" He gave her a death glare. "Let me off!"

"Hey, keep your little sister quiet!"

"She isn't my—I need to—Rika!"

He frantically tried to make his way to one of the doors as the bus lurched forward, but nobody moved for him and the schoolgirl, despite her screams, clung to his sleeve.

When he finally got close enough to a window to look outside, the bus had begun moving once again. From the pavement, he saw Rika smirking, waving her fingers teasingly at him.

* * *

Kari sat in TK's car, arms crossed in discomfort.

TK had made a pit stop at the school on their way back to their flat, saying he had forgotten his maths book in his locker.

She hadn't wanted to forgive him so easily back at her home, but she admittedly felt bad for him.

He had looked so pathetic. She hadn't told Tai what had happened, fearing for TK's life. Judging by how nervous TK had been in the presence of Tai, she could tell he feared for it too.

She saw him jogging back to his car, and for a second she considered jumping into the front seat and driving way.

The only thing that stopped her was really the fact that she had yet to get her licence.

He gave her a weak smile as he opened the door to his car. He threw his maths book in the back and sat in the driver's seat.

"Here you go," he said carefully, stretching an arm out. In his hands were two ice cream cones. "You like chocolate, right?"

She stared at the pair of cones in his hand. One chocolate, one vanilla.

"I thought you were going to school," she said stonily.

"I was, but I thought I'd, er, stop be the kiosk on the way," he said unsurely. "I have a vanilla one too, if you want it."

"It's winter."

"Yeah, but it's, er, it's ice cream. I eat it all year round."

She didn't respond.

He cleared his throat, obviously uncomfortable. "Look, Kari, I'm sorry I yelled at you yesterday. It was out of line." He paused. "I didn't mean it."

"You did, but it's fine," she said dismissively.

"And thank you for not telling your brother about what happened," he tried again. "I really appreciate it."

"It's fine."

"And for helping me when I was choking," he continued.

"It's fine."

He looked at her awkwardly before starting the car. "Anyway, I'm really sorry. I hope you can forgive me."

"I want the vanilla."

"Vanilla? Er, are you sure?" he asked confusedly before handing it to her. "Here, it's going to melt."

He gave her a small smile before putting the car in reverse.

Kari watched as he drove, noting that he didn't touch his cone. It was true that she would have preferred chocolate over vanilla usually, but for some reason, she didn't want TK to think he still knew her.

Because he didn't. Not anymore.

* * *

Ryo held his breath as he swiped his key card. After losing Rika on the bus, he was scared she wouldn't be back.

His life was on the line. What would he tell his parents and Rika's mother?

"_Oh, sorry. I made Rika so mad that she ran away and got herself lost in the middle of a foreign country. I hope you don't mind."_

His mother would probably faint. His father would probably kill him. As for Ms Makino, he couldn't imagine her not to be secretly pleased that he got that parasite of a daughter off her hands.

"Back already?"

Ryo let out a sigh of relief when he saw Rika at their table, eating an apple.

"Where the hell did you go?" he snapped, though he had promised himself not to yell at her until she yelled at him first.

"Here," she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I just searched the whole city for you!" he snapped.

"Aw, you do care!" Rika pretended to be flattered. "You searched a whole, what, twenty minutes for me?"

He threw himself on the couch beside her and reached over to drink some of her juice.

"Ryo!" she screamed.

"I'm thirsty," he said matter-of-factly before standing up. "I'm taking a shower."

"You're so gross! That was mine!"

"Oh no, cooties." Rolling his eyes, Ryo opened the bathroom door and walked inside.

* * *

Rika opened Ryo's laptop. If he was so keen on sharing things, she figured he wouldn't mind her using his personal laptop.

The browser was open to his emails, and the first one caught her interest.

It was from Hina Itou.

Rolling her eyes, she opened the mail.

"_Ryo, I hope your holiday is going along well. Just so you know, Rika's allergic to raspberries. Love, Hina."_

Rika frowned. Hina was such a bitch.

She opened his sent folder to read his response.

"_Raspberries, huh? Thanks for the info."_

And Ryo was such a little bastard. She furiously shut the laptop.

She'd give him a piece of her mind later.

* * *

Once they had gotten home, they spent most of the day apart. Kari stayed within her room, and she only assumed TK did the same.

It was around dinnertime that TK had knocked on her door and asked her if she wanted to get dinner with him.

She would have said no if she didn't feel so bad for him. She knew she shouldn't really have a reason to pity him, but she couldn't help it. Even with the years, TK had maintained his youthful, innocent looks. And despite everything, he really did seem to be making an effort to be nice.

"Why are we going to the other side of the city to buy pizza?" Kari asked finally.

They had left their flat nearly half an hour ago, and although they had passed plenty of pizza parlours, TK seemed to have his mind on a particular place.

"It's the only place where they have the toppings I like," TK explained. "It's good, I promise."

"I never knew anybody could be so dedicated to pizza," Kari muttered.

He raised an eyebrow. "Say you hated pepperoni pizza and all the pizza parlours around here only sold pepperoni pizza except for one that was a bit further than others. What would you do?"

"I would pick the pepperonis off."

Silence.

"Let me rephrase that. You like Hawaiian pizza, right? Say there's only one shop that sold Hawaiian pizza. Wouldn't you walk the extra distance?"

An awkward silence fell between them.

He was so weird. He had worked so hard to break his friendship with her, and now all of the sudden he wouldn't stop bringing up all the things he remembered about her.

"I guess I'm not as picky as you." Kari said finally.

"Guess not," TK said, grinning. "Well, this pizza is very important to me, so I don't mind the walk. It's good exercise too."

Now that she thought about, she did remember him liking a certain type of pizza. It was a peculiar and rather disgusting combination, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

* * *

"Half peanut butter and pickles."

Gross.

"Of course." The waiter nodded knowingly. "So a medium pizza, half Hawaiian and half TK?"

TK grinned. "Yeah, thanks for naming that after me."

"You're the only one who ever orders it," he responded, laughing. "The Hawaiian is new, but so is the lady. She your new girlfriend?"

"Actually, she's my, er, my friend," TK said awkwardly.

"Well, your, er, your friend is cute," the waiter teased, winking at him. "Pizza'll be out in a minute."

When he walked away, TK looked at her awkwardly, probably trying to figure out what her response would be.

"You're really gross," she said finally, cracking a smile.

He smiled too—genuinely, by the looks of it. "Hey, I don't see ham and pineapples being that great of a combination either, but I don't insult it, do I?"

"I guess not."

TK stirred his drink with his hand, probably trying to pass the time.

"Hey Kari?"

"Yeah?"

"I know you probably don't want to hear me say it again, but I'm sorry for what I said yesterday."

She wondered how to respond correctly but gave in. "Don't be sorry. You were right. We aren't really anything anymore, are we?"

He looked up. "Ah…"

"Friends drift apart," she concluded, smiling at him. "No need to hold onto grudges, right?"

"Er…"

"Don't feel bad, TK."

"I lied." He stirred harder. "You aren't nothing to me. You were a really good friend of mine, Kari." He looked up. "Hey, even though I can't really say we're friends anymore, let's just try to make the next couple months as pleasant as possible."

She smiled, extending a hand. "Deal. I guess that's the least I can do for my fiancé."

He smiled back and shook it.

* * *

I hope everybody in London right now is safe. xx


	9. Takeru

From this point onwards is the old version of this story. Significantly worse, even more pointless, etc. If you have even made it this far and for some reason still wish to read further, I'd highly advise against reading these old drafts and suggest waiting for the updated versions instead. That being said, I decided against taking Chapters 9-15 off this website altogether for the nostalgia and memories, so if you choose to read on, you have been fairly warned.

**Chapter 9: Takeru**

Rika swiped her key card coming from breakfast and entered her suite.

"_MERRY CHRISTMAS!_"

Rika shrieked as Ryo popped open a bottle of what appeared to be champagne. The bottle was obviously shaken before for it exploded directly on her.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH—"

Ryo took Rika by the hand and pulled her inside. "Hey, you aren't going to be bitter today. It's Christmas. And even if I have to spend Christmas in the goddamn summer, we're going to make it as Christmas-y as possible. So don't start the day screaming."

"You just drenched me in... in... what the hell is this anyway!" Rika grabbed the bottle from Ryo's hand. "Is this alcohol?"

"It's sparkling apple cider, don't have a heart attack." Ryo took a towel from a table and wiped his hands. "That's what sucks about going on vacation with your parents. You can't really _do_ anything."

"I just took a shower, you jackass!"

"Take another one." Ryo grinned and outstretched his hand. "Where's my present?"

"How's this for a present?" Rika threateningly flung the half-empty bottle at Ryo's head, but he grabbed it just in time.

"Don't break your present! I'm not getting another one, you know!"

Kari looked around her flat. It certainly did not feel like Christmas. In fact, it felt like any other day. TK and Kari never bothered to set up a Christmas tree. Kari had not bought TK a present. It felt... empty.

Perhaps she would feel better once she went to her parents' house. It was seven o'clock—too early to call her parents, although they were probably awake. She looked in the direction of TK's room. He was still asleep. While it was true that he had been acting a lot nicer to her lately, she found it more awkward than comforting. It was almost like TK was doing it to make her uncomfortable.

She looked around the flat once again. It was so dark and depressing. She desperately longed for the warmth and love she received at home.

She took the pad of paper off the lamp stand and wrote a note to TK. She tore the paper off and taped it to her room door. She took a coat and scarf from her closet and left, heading for her parents'.

"I can't believe you didn't buy me a present!" Ryo complained through sips of his apple cider. "I'm hurt, Rika, really hurt. After all, I did buy you this wonderful drink."

Rika twisted her wet hair into a bun and put it securely in place.

"And when are you going to stop the silent treatment? I _said_ I was sorry," Ryo said matter-of-factly. "Isn't that enough?"

Rika walked up to him. "Apparently, no."

"It's amazing, it really is!" Ryo frowned at her. "Somehow, you can spread your bitterness to every aspect of life, including Christmas. That's such an unattractive quality."

"May I see my present?" Rika asked innocently.

"What, so you can throw it at me again? I'm not stupid, Rika. And it isn't your present anymore. I took it back because you didn't buy me one."

Frowning, Rika grabbed his glass. While he tried to get it back, she took the bottle as well. She threw the rest of Ryo's cider in her mouth and spit it back into the bottle. She then handed them both back to Ryo.

"Merry Christmas, Ryo."

Ryo's jaw dropped. "You just—"

"Ruined Christmas?" Rika pretended to pout as she patted Ryo's spiky head. "Aw, poor baby. Santa will come again next year."

"Don't look at me like that, Rika!" Ryo grinned, standing at their doorway, his prize in his hand. "It's your own fault, just so you know."

"I can't believe you stole..." Rika lowered her voice. "_that_."

"You mean _alcohol_!" Ryo said loudly as he walked into their suite.

Rika slammed the door behind him. "Ryo!"

"It's just a bottle of vodka." Ryo headed towards the kitchen with his plastic. "Our parents won't notice."

"You're 17!" Rika paused. "_Vodka!_Are you stupid!"

"No. And, actually, I'm 18." Ryo faked a sigh. "I can't believe you don't even know that about me."

"17 and 18 practically the same thing!" Rika grabbed the back of his shirt to stop him from reaching the kitchen. "The point is you're not 20, and that's when you can drink."

"You're not 18, but you smoke," Ryo pointed out.

"That really is not the point. Like I said, 17 and 18 are practically the same."

"Well, then, have some. The legal age here in _Australia_ is 18." Ryo gave Rika the smuggest look as he laid the bottle on their small table. He took the top off and poured some in a glass.

"No!"

"I would have thought a girl like you drank." Ryo rest his elbows on the table and smiled at her calmly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rika demanded, marching to the high table.

Ryo held his glass up. "I mean I didn't know you were such a pansy."

"I win!" Rika slammed her third glass down. "Ha, who's the pansy _now_, Akiyama!"

"Uh-huh..." Ryo raised an eyebrow. "Now you're just drunk."

"I am _not_ drunk!" declared Rika, glaring fiercely at Ryo. "I don't get drunk like you."

Ryo smirked. "If you say so. I am drunk, after all."

"You asshole, I'm not—oops!" When Rika tried to get up from the table, she tripped over her high chair and landed on the floor. "Ow! See, if I was drunk, I would not have felt that!" She waggled her finger at him with each syllable.

Ryo, who had taken a total of two shots, was not phased with the effects of alcohol. He figured if one of their parents came in (as they would not have approved of Australia's drinking age), it would better be Rika drunk than him. He could do some pretty stupid things when drunk. "Rika, do you need help?"

"Do I look like I need help?" Rika snapped, getting up and sitting back down. She shoved her glass at Ryo. "More."

Ryo, who was rather enjoying Rika in this state, poured her some.

"You selfish brat, you only filled it halfway!"

"'TK, I went to my parents' for the day. Merry Christmas. Kari.'" TK read through squinted eyes. "Huh."

TK dragged his feet into the lounge and looked at the clock. It was 2:47. Rubbing his eyes, he allowed his body to plop on the couch. He lazily reached for his mobile on the coffee table. Fifty-six missed calls. Groaning, he threw his phone back on the table and shut his eyes.

_'...Merry Christmas...'_

TK's eyes shot open. "Holy shit, is it Christmas!"

He flipped his phone open, and clearing all his missed calls, stared at the date. December 25!

He scrambled out of the couch and into his room to find something appropriate to wear in public.

Kari stirred the soup slowly, just like her mother had told her to. Christmas dinner was very important in the Kamiya family, and they usually spent hours preparing. They, as in Kari and her mother. Her dad and brother watched sports, although they did help at times. The men were definitely the better chefs, but they were definitely the better couch potatoes as well.

"Kari, your phone is ringing," Tai said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Kari dashed into the lounge and flipped open her phone. "Hello?"

"Kari," said TK's whiney voice, rather pathetically. "Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Because I woke up at seven."

"So? I just woke up!"

"Well, I thought you had an alarm clock. Look, I have to go now. I'll talk to you later. Bye."

Kari hung up and shut the power off. She refused to let TK ruin her last possible Christmas as a Kamiya.

"TK's well?" her father asked, no sign of care in his voice.

"I really wouldn't know, Dad." Kari shrugged and walked back into the kitchen.

"Kari? Kari?" TK frowned and threw his phone at the passenger seat. "Damn her."

Immediately, his phone rang again. When he stopped at a red light, he reached for it—and noticed a deep cut on his leather interior. "Oh, my God... She..." He remembered when he left Kari in his car. "_**She sliced open my car! **_Oh. My..."

"God!" Ryo said angrily. "Why did you drink so much if your tolerance is so damn pathetic?"

"I cahn too durringk!" Rika slurred, feeling ready to barf any second.

"Shut up, will you? You can't even talk!"

"I cahn too tohgk!" Rika placed a finger in her glass and twirled it for signs of alcohol. "Moh!"

"I haven't got any more," Ryo lied.

"Jahkarse, moh!" Rika slammed her fist on the table with her left hand and reached for Ryo's shirt with her right. She missed his hand and grasped open air. "Moh!" Her tone was that of a teary child begging her mother for another cookie.

"For crying out loud!" Ryo took Rika by the arms and tried to pick her up. "Will you please cooperate?"

"Leh me go!" Rika shrieked.

"COOPERATE!" Ryo yelled at her face.

"Aurgh!" Rika lazily dragged her fist across Ryo's head.

"Damn you, everybody knows you're supposed to have one shot every five minutes."

"Leh me go! I haavda use duh loooooooo." Rika burst in a fit of girly giggles. Yes, girly giggles.

"_Please_ tell me you're joking." Ryo lightly slapped her cheeks. "Rika, you can't use the toilet! It's too far away!"

"Yohr kyuu." Rika giggled, taking Ryo by the sleeve.

"Yeah, I know I'm cute." Ryo rolled his eyes and tugged on his sleeve to prevent from falling on her. "I am in so much shit if our parents come in."

Rika pulled harder on his sleeve, whinging a little now. It was amazing how different she was when drunk. She was almost desperate for his attention.

"Takeru!" Ms. Takaishi hugged her son when he showed up on her doorstep. "I missed you! How are you? You're so late; I thought you were kidnapped!"

"Fine, Mum, I'm fine. No, I wasn't kidnapped, TK said absentmindedly, patting his mother's back. _'I cannot believe she tore open my car!'_

"Hi Son, glad you decided to make it." TK's father looked up from the television to greet him. "You okay there? You look a bit annoyed."

"No, I'm not annoyed. Sorry for not getting here earlier. I overslept on accident." TK laughed sheepishly._ 'I mean, I bought her coffee _and_ pizza. And she goes around _**vandalising my damn car**

"She ran something through my car interior!" TK whinged to Matt. "It isn't a subtle thing either! It's_really_ noticeable!"

"Well, maybe if you weren't such an ass around her…"

"I was nice to her!" TK cried, insulted by such accusations. "Well, before I was, but then I really tried to be nice! Really! I bought her food! I drove her around town! I bought her flowers! Look what she did to me, that ungrateful little brat!" TK showed Matt the bruise on his arm. "Do you know how hard it is to laugh at completely unhumourous things when the other person finds it just as unhumourous!"

"First of all, 'unhumourous' isn't a word. Don't use it ever again. Second, TK, you've got to stop talking. You sound like a baby!"

"How would you like it if somebody practically split your car in half!"

"I'd be mad, but she didn't split your car in half, did she?" Matt sweatdropped. "My car has a bunch of scratches anyway."

"Well, your car is crap!" TK snapped.

Because his mother spoiled him, TK unquestionably had the better car. Their father believed in building character, so Matt was forced to raise money for his own car. Matt had enough money by now, with his band's concerts and all, but he was saving up for a better car than TK. He believed in the whole older-siblings-get-all-the-good-stuff-and-younger-siblings-get-crap business.

"Whoa, what's that tone you're using with your _older_ brother?" Matt said sternly. His constant reminder of him being three years his senior could get rather annoying at times.

"Matt," TK winced. "Why weren't you forced into marriage?"

"Because I'm not a Takaishi," Matt bragged. "I'm only half."

"Well, so am I!" TK blurted as if Matt just found out they were both half Takaishi.

"It's my lesser half."

"Are you insulting Mum!" TK asked, shocked. "You prat!"

"No, I'm saying I have a stronger Ishida influence." Matt chuckled. "It's okay, kid. On the positive side, you can brag to all your little high school friends that you're getting hitched before me." Then his voice lowered, as if that were possible. Matt's voice rivalled that of Barry White's. "Call me a prat again, and I'll key your car."

TK groaned angrily. "I still can't believe she destroyed my car!"

"TK, you were right." Matt's sternness lifted, replaced by a smug grin. "You always were the lucky one."

"Just lay here… and… sleep… or something." Ryo ordered as he set Rika on his couch. The one positive thing that came out of this was that he got the bed for an afternoon nap. He had hoped maybe drunken Rika would be a lot quieter, but not only was she louder, but she was annoyingly louder—as in she was talking away like one of Matt's fangirls.

Rika giggled, still clutching to Ryo's shirt. "Yohr kyuu!"

"Okay, okay." Ryo pushed her hand off, getting agitated by being called 'cute' repeatedly. "Go to sleep!"

"No!" She was screaming in his face, though there was no sign of anger in her voice. She was toying with him.

It was actually very cute, if he ignored the weirdness and annoyingness. He actually felt like a father caring for his baby daughter—who just happened to be less than a year younger than him. Okay, so it really wasn't like that, but it was cute nevertheless.

"Lyouu," Rika said, pointing to Ryo's face with her free hand. "Sit!" She pointed to the space above her head.

Sighing, he sat down. Rika immediately got up and sat on her knees, staring down at him.

"Holy cow, your breath…" Ryo stuck his tongue out in disgust. The stench of booze from her was strong.

Rika, who didn't get it, giggled and stuck out her own tongue.

"Yeah, that's right. You smell." Ryo said, glaring at her. "You smell like a big, fat cow."

"No, you!" Giggling, Rika flung herself into Ryo's arms. He caught her arms before she fell on top of her. "You smell laik a biiiiiiiig kau! A biiiiiig, faaht kau!"

"Then again, I always smell like one to you." Ryo chuckled, quite amused by Rika's newfound cuteness. She really was acting like a five-year-old. Nothing would complete his Christmas than videotaping this. Her calling him cute, giggling like a schoolgirl, trying to hug him—all very un-Rika-ish things.

"KAU!" Rika shrieked happily. She shoved Ryo's chest forcefully before exploding into a fit of giggles. Ryo coughed and let go of her arms when Rika nearly knocked out his heart for a second. She grabbed his shirt and pinned him to the couch. "Lyouu, do you heidt me?"

"Of course I hate you, you freak." Ryo took her arms and tried to pull her off again. "Damn you, get sober soon."

Ryo looked at her eyes to tell her this sternly, but got mesmerised instead. Her eyes were so… wow. And, now that she was giggling, she truly did look like the beautiful model her mother was. Not at the very least the rude and obnoxious girl she actually was.

"Rika? Are you in here?" came his mother's voice from behind his suite door. "Can I come in?"

"Holy—" Ryo looked at Rika, who was still giggling and clinging to him. "Sorry Ms. Makino, but I think she went out for some fresh air! I'd let you in, but I'm, er, yeah."

"Mu—" Ryo put a hand firmly over Rika's mouth, stopping her mid sentence.

"No, I understand. We all have our randy moments." Ryo's fingers almost slipped off Rika's mouth, horrified. _How inappropriate and preposterous!_

"Oh, no!" Ryo defended quickly. He didn't get to make up a story, as she finished off,

"Just tell her that her mother wants her?"

"S-s-sure thing!" Ryo stuttered, still recovering. It was only until Rika tried to pull his hand away from her mouth that he came back into his chances. "You seriously are nothing but trouble! Your mum thinks I'm some sort of lonely pervert now."

Rika giggled.

"Of course, if she really did think that, I wouldn't be here rooming with you, would I?" Ryo wasn't really expecting an answer from Rika, but thinking aloud. "No, I suppose not. Your mum's just toying with me, eh? Just like you always do."

She stopped giggling, instead giving a small smile.

"What are you trying to do, look cute?" Ryo asked, lowering his face to her level. "Because you aren't cute, Rika Makino. You can't pull off cuteness for a millisecond."

Rika giggled and kissed Ryo's nose since it was so close to her face. "Lyouu kyuu!"

"And I'm not 'cute.' Stop calling me cute!" Ryo said sternly. "Girls can be cute, but not guys—unless they look like a total girl like TK."

Rika blinked.

"Stupid." Ryo lightly hit Rika's head. "That's what you are. You're stupid."

Rika giggled and jumped on Ryo again. This time Ryo fell, knocking his head hard on the couch rest. It didn't hurt much, but it might be because he was thinking about her instead. She really was like a baby. Ryo smiled and let her play with his shirt and hair.

"Kiss?" Rika puckered her lips. Deciding to humour her (or perhaps scared of what she'd do if he didn't), Ryo pecked them. Rika giggled and flung her arms around Ryo's head and nuzzled into his chest. Ryo could feel himself flush, something he rarely did. Embarrassed, he took her arms and tried to push her off. She must have thought it was some sort of game, as she clutched harder to his neck, suffocating him. He finally let go, giving up, and she loosened her grip as well. Ryo sighed and felt his eyes drooping after several moments of silence.

'Even when you're drunk and acting like a kid, you still force me to sleep on the damn couch…'

"TK, that's barely noticeable!" Matt said, annoyed.

TK stuffed a big spoonful of ice cream in his mouth, despite the weather. "Behlee no-i-ah-bul!"

Matt rolled his eyes. "If you have to point it out, and I have to get this close to see it, then, yes, that would be barely noticeable. Why are you so dramatic? Stop acting like a goddamn baby."

TK swallowed. "I am not acting dramatic, and I am not acting like a baby! My car's been obliterated!"

"Yeah, I would consider calling this," Matt pointed to the mark, his tone sarcastic, "obliteration."

TK rammed his spoon into the pint of ice cream. "I can't even enjoy Christmas; all I can think about is my car."

Matt rolled his eyes. "Well, you can stay here and cry all you want. In case you haven't noticed, it's cold and dirty out here. I'm going inside."

"You're a crappy brother," TK whinged as he followed Matt into the elevator.

"What? Do you want me to complain and cry like you?"

"I am not crying!"

"You sound like you are. You're still a baby."

"I am not a baby!"

"Mum, do you think I'm a baby?" TK spread his arms against the counter.

Natsuko took TK's ice cream and put it back into the refrigerator. "Of course not, but you'll always be_my_ baby."

TK groaned. "If I'm your baby, can you please stop the marriage madness? I'm unhappy!"

"You just _think_ you're unhappy!" Natsuko sat next to her son and gently placed a hand on his back. "You're not giving it a chance."

"I did!" TK turned his face to face his mother. "She hates me."

"Kari does not hate you. She's a very nice girl. Besides, you two were practically inseparable when you were young!"

TK groaned. "Mum, please don't remind me of that."

"Why not? Hehe, you two were so adorable! She was always saving you from—"

"I was not adorable!"

"I meant handsome. Honey, you really sound start being a bit more optimistic. I bet Kari's having loads of fun right now, and you're on the countertop, crying!"

TK groaned and sat up. "I am not crying!"

"YEAH!"

The apartment shook as the entire Kamiya family shrieked happily for a football game. It was Brazil versus Japan, and Japan had miraculously won. Of course, every game they had watched so far, Japan had won. Kari had bought her brother a DVD of Japan's football teams' greatest moments, so they were all watching it.

"A yellow card!" Tai yelled, standing up. "What the hell!"

Kari and her parents laughed. Tai, who had sort of given up football in uni, was obviously still passionate about the sport. He yelled happily each time Japan scored, and cursed, though not really, when the other team did anything wrong.

Kari smiled. Now _this_ felt like Christmas.

"Dad, what are you watching?" TK slumped into the lounge, where his father was watching a game.

"Football," his father replied.

TK naturally preferred basketball over football, but walked sat on the couch to watch anyway. He could not understand how a sport where hands were not allowed to be used could possibly be fun.

In five minutes, he was bored and dozed off.

Rika slowly opened her eyes, feeling rather dizzy. The first thing she noticed was her bed was breathing. After blinking several times, she saw that her bed was actually Ryo, who was awake and watching telly. She had been using his upper abdomen area as her pillow.

She forced herself not to let out an ear piercing shriek. Instead, she yelled, "What the fuck are you doing!"

"Watching some programme," Ryo replied calmly.

Rika quickly got off him. "W—"

"Before you start yelling," Ryo turned the telly off and looked at Rika. "I tried to wake you up. I tried to get you to sleep on the bed. I tried everything, but you would just get on top of me and act like a baby. You really should not drink. You get way too needy. And whiney. And giggly."

Rika gasped, insulted. "Are you insulting me?"

"No, I'm explaining reality so you don't have to embarrass yourself again." He rolled his eyes and flipped the telly on once again.

Rika really could not remember getting drunk, nor could she remember acting the way Ryo described her. She knew one thing though. She was not needy, whiney, or giggly. Well, she could be needy and whiney at times, but she definitely avoided giggling at all costs. Giggling was for little girls who thought they were cute.

"Oh, and we snogged."

The shriek she had been holding in released itself as Rika screamed.

"Don't have a cow," Ryo grinned. "It was more out of pity than anything else."

"I pitied you when I was drunk!" Rika bellowed, bewildered.

"Oh, no," Ryo laughed. "You actually kissed me first." He knew it was his nose, but, thinking back, that would sound a bit stupid. Kissing just sounded better. "Then you asked me for a kiss, so we snogged." Okay, so he was exaggerating, but the look of horror upon her face was worth it.

Rika slapped his face. "Are you crazy!"

"Ow! Damn, woman, what's wrong with—"

"ARE YOU FUCKING OUT OF YOUR MIND!" she demanded. "When did I give you permission to kiss me!"

"When you were drunk!" Ryo said, annoyed. "You're act like you're a toddler when you're drunk, no joke. It's honestly the weirdest th—"

"People do not act like toddlers when drunk!" Rika said hotly.

"You do. Oh, and your mum wants you." Ryo got up from the couch. "And, don't worry, you weren't too bad at it—snogging, I mean. You could use a little bit of practise though."

Rika let out another furious shriek. "I'll murder you!"

"Matt, are you staying with Dad?" TK asked sheepishly.

"Yeah, why?"

"Oh." A look of disappointment crossed his face. "Just wondering…"

"Why?"

"Nothing, I was just wondering." TK waved his hand, motioning there was no reason behind his question.

"You were never very good at lying." Matt looked at his little brother sternly. "Tell me now."

"Well, I got this phone call, see?" TK bit his lip.

_"Kari!" TK bellowed into the phone as he picked it up._

_"TK, I'm staying at my parents' house for a couple days. That's fine, right?"_

_"Why is that, Kari?" TK asked hotly._

_"I just want to spend some part of my holidays with my family," she said softly. "I'll be back on the twenty-eighth. I just thought I'd let you know…"_

_"Oh, really?" TK felt his anger rise. "You sure it isn't because you're scared I'll kill you for making a rip in my car?"_

_"What are you talking about?"_

_"Because I will, you know. Kill you, I mean."_

_"TK, what are you talking about?" Kari's voice seemed to heat up as well, giving TK a small pang of guilt. What if she hadn't done anything, and he was making false accusations? What if… no. It had to be her. It had to._

_"You know what I'm talking about, Kari Kamiya!"_

_"No, I don't," she said, angry but volume at a fair level. "And I don't want to talk about it, nor do I want to talk to you about anything else. I'll see you on the twenty-eighth."-_

"…So, I was wondering if I could stay with you, but if you're just staying at Dad's, then I might as well stay with Mum." TK shrugged.

"Why? Does Kari have the only key to your flat?"

"Oh, I have one," TK's fingers played with the keys in his pocket. "I just, you know, don't want to stay there alone."

"Aw, is ickle Take scared?" Matt teased.

TK frowned. He didn't mind Takeru, but couldn't stand Take. Thankfully, Matt was the only one who called him that. It was his childhood nickname for him, but now he used it more to refer to his childishness. "No! I just heard there's going to be blizzards and stuff. I don't want to be stuck—"

"You know, when I was your age, I would give _anything_ to have a flat of my own. Have friends come over, party all day, party all night… Damn, you are one boring kid. How did you become to be my little brother?"

That had actually been TK's first intention, but if he invited his friends, they would know about the engagement. He wanted to hold that announcement off as much as possible. His flat wasn't a huge apartment complex like his parents' places either. It only fit four families, and seeing the other three were on vacation somewhere, he really did not like the idea of being there alone when a blizzard hit.

"I don't know," TK said, shrugging.

"I could stay there with you, if you want." By the tone of Matt's amused voice, he could tell he was still joking around with him. "I'll tuck you in at night and everything. If you're really good, I'll give you a lolly and a bedtime story. Sounds good, eh Take?"

Matt could be such a tart sometimes. TK was often bothered knowing he could be made fun of for his name, but he couldn't think of one for Matt. When they were both in primary school, a boy called him Matty. Matt became famous that day. He was the first kid ever to punch that boy in the face. He was the first kid to receive a suspension as well. TK was not about to be the second person to call his brother Matty.

"Never mind," TK muttered.

"Seriously though," Matt's tone went back to normal. "I'll stay with you if you want."

"No, no, it's fine." TK waved a hand again. "I'll just stay here with Mum. She must get terribly lonely here, since she's alone and all."

Matt softened even more. "You're a good kid, TK."

"Yeah, yeah," TK muttered, staring at the direction of the door

_Three days later…_

TK rested his head on the wheel of his car, waiting for Kari to come out of her home. His mother insisted in him picking her up, though he didn't understand what was so wrong with riding a bus. He thought he lived in a fairly safe neighbourhood.

It was now three days after Christmas. Matt and TK had stayed at their mother's. Hiroaki left them the day after Christmas. It was fairly comfortable. He had missed his mother's cooking. He had missed his brother's company.

But, finally, it was time to go back to Kari's cooking and Kari's company.

He was getting rather aggravated, as he got to the apartment homes exactly at one o'clock, just like he promised. It was now four minutes past one, and Kari had yet to appear.

He glanced to his left and saw the horrible scratch Kari had left in the side of his door. He winced. "Stupid little—I'll kill her."

_"Now, TK, what are you going to do?" Matt asked TK as if he were a six-year-old._

_TK rolled his eyes and indulged in the chocolates Matt had bought for TK to give to Kari. "I'm going to pick her up and take her home."_

_"And what are you _not_ going to do?"_

_TK nibbled on a piece of chocolate. Seeing it was filled with that pink stuff he hated, he threw it back in the box along with others he had not liked. "I forget."_

_"TK!"_

_TK grinned as he nibbled another piece of chocolate. "I won't mention the car thing, and pretend to forget it ever happened."_

_"Good, and if I find out you did?"_

_"You're entitled to my car, and I'm entitled to yours."_

_"Good boy." Matt pulled out a sheet of paper. "Now, sign this."_

_"What's this?"_

_"It's our contract."_

_"For what!"_

_"Our car exchange in case you do spill."_

_"You're joking."_

_"I'm not. I might be your brother, but I'm willing to take your car."_

_"You're horrible!" TK accused, looking appalled._

_"No, I'm human. Sign. Now."_

"So, why the heck did I agree to that again?" TK muttered to himself, staring at a holly bush. The bush was so green and lush, full of healthy life on this cold, wintry day. Though the sun was shining brightly, the weatherman confirmed today would be the first snow of winter. It was making him tired. Sunshine always made him sleepy.

He shut his eyes, but did not fall asleep. The music in his car was too loud.

_Bam!_

TK opened his eyes, startled by a sudden jolt from the car. He looked up and saw that Kari had slammed her fist on the hood of his car to wake him up. His car door was locked.

His jaw dropped, but shut quickly when he saw she had not made a dent in his car. Cursing aloud, he unlocked his car.

Kari forced the door open, got inside, yanked the seatbelt, put it on, and slammed the door. With each excruciating force, TK flinched.

"How was Christmas?" she asked sweetly. Unlike TK, Kari was rather good at lying. He couldn't tell if she was pretending or not. Then again, it could be that he sucked at differentiating between lies and honesty.

"It was pretty good. How about you?" TK muttered, putting his car in drive.

"It was _really_ fun!" Kari smiled.

For the remainder of the trip, Kari explained in full detail how fun her Christmas really was, adding obvious hints that his company was not missed.

Rika examined the fountain in front of her. The spurts of water had a fascinating routine, though that wasn't what Rika was examining. She was looking at the various coins in the fountain. Why the hell anybody would throw money in a fountain in hopes of fulfilling a wish was beyond her.

She looked to her left, where Ryo had been talking to her for the past few moments. "Pardon?"

Ryo felt a pang of annoyance. "Just give me your number, will you?"

"Tch, yeah right." Rika subconsciously put a hand over her jean pocket that held her mobile.

"Yeah?" Ryo crossed his arms and straightened his posture. "How do you propose we find each other at the end of the day?"

"Just come back here when you want to go home."

"I want to go home."

"Then stay here."

Rika had carefully avoided Ryo since Christmas, and if he tried to talk to her, she would ignore him. When her mother realised this that morning, she decided it would be exciting for the kids to experience Australian malls.

Neither of them thought they were any different than Tokyo malls.

"Rika, just give me your number."

"If I give you my number, you'll be able to contact me after our winter holidays. I plan to completely erase you from my mind once this nightmare is over."

"Yeah, because I have this terrible crush on you. I plan to profess my undying love for you, and stalk you around school until you agree to go out with me," Ryo said sarcastically.

It was Rika's turn to feel annoyed. "Goodbye, Ryo."

She turned her heel and began to walk away. Ryo immediately ran up to her, walking beside her. "Give me your number, or I'll follow you around all day."

"020543937," Rika said quickly before walking into Victoria's Secret.

Ryo, who only remembered the last -37, tried to make a quick grab at her arm, but missed, forced to choose between two options. One, he could walk in the lingerie store and look stupid to possibly get her number. Two, he could wait for her to walk out. The thing was this store had three entrances/exits.

He finally walked inside and immediately noticed he was the only male in the shop, which was perfectly understandable.

"Hello, sir, would you like to sample our cologne?"

Ryo stared at the short saleswoman who ran up to him holding a bottle of cologne. "Um, no thanks."

The woman sprayed him anyway. "That was Very Sexy for Him. And this," she sprayed him a second time, "is Very Sexy for Him 2."

Standing in a women's lingerie store as the only male, surrounded by nearly-naked mannequins, various cosmetics, displays of various women's underwear, and blindingly pink walls, very sexy was the last thing he felt.

"Yeah, I'll take both," Ryo said, finally spotting Rika. As the saleswoman talked excitedly towards the fragrance section to pick up his colognes, he rushed to Rika.

Rika looked up when she saw Ryo, but matter-of-factly turned to the rack of babydolls. She hated babydolls, yet every time she passed one her size, she pulled it out. She must have had nearly a dozen by the time Ryo had found her.

"You weren't kidding about the following-me-around, were you? But, unless you've decided to become a transvestite, there isn't anything worth your time here," she said, still rummaging through the rack. She pulled out a transparent pink babydoll and held it up to Ryo. "Although, I admit this colour goes so well with your cheeks."

Ryo grabbed the shirt and threw it over his shoulder, praying nobody who worked there saw that. "Stop joking around and give me your number."

"If I remember correctly," Rika gave him an amused smile, "I gave it to you prior to entering here."

"You said it so fast I couldn't hear anything but the last two numbers, which I forgot already."

"020543937," Rika said slower.

"0-2-what?" Ryo muttered, reaching for his phone and sliding it to reveal the keys. "One last time?"

"0-2-0-5-4-3-9-3-7," Rika said as slowly as she could. "As I won't be needing to ring you up, I won't need yours—"

She was interrupted as her mobile's ring tone blasted loudly, filling the store. She glared at him, who slid the top back down, abruptly stopping the sound. "Why the hell are you calling me?"

"Just checking to see you didn't give me a made-up number," Ryo put his phone back in his pocket.

Rika usually was not a big shopper. In fact, she constantly went to the mall with her friends for the company rather than the shopping. Occasionally, she would buy a basic article of clothing so her mother wouldn't try and convince her to shop in Harajuku.

Not today though. She had her mother's credit card, and she was going to make sure to max it out. This whole thing was her fault. She had forced Rika to go to Australia. She had forced Rika to room with Ryo. Now, Rika was going to blow all her money and laugh.

"This is our latest collection," said a saleswoman as she led Rika to a rack full of flashy items that were sure to be pricey as well. "In fact, Kate Moss was recently spotted wearing this shirt with this skirt!"

Rika could care less about Kate Moss. If she was so famous, why the hell would she shop at the mall? That's what Rika wondered. Her mother feared malls—designer boutiques only.

"Sure, I'll take that." Rika thumbed through the rack and brought out all the clothes marked with her size. "And all these."

"S-should I get you a cart?" The woman greedily gave Rika a wide smile that she was so familiar with. "Could I also interest you in some shoes?"

"Your total is 31,440.57."

Rika felt a slight rush of panic as she handed the ringer her credit card. She wasn't sure of the conversion between Japanese yen and Australian dollars, but she certainly hoped it was nowhere near what she thought.

TK opened the door to his flat, threw the keys on the ground, took off his jacket, threw that on the ground, walked into his room, slammed the door, and flopped on the bed. He was never going to talk to Kari. Ever. He would remain alone in his room until Kari walked up to him with an apology.

Several moments later, a knock came. "TK?"

He stood still, listening.

"TK, are you mad?"

TK slid quietly under his covers and stared at the door.

"I'm sorry I didn't wake you up, TK."

Although the apology sounded genuine, somehow, that wasn't good enough. Thinking back, Kari had done a lot of cruel things to him. At first it was just the car, now it was everything.

Kari continued to ask if he was all right. He pretended to snore, unconvincingly, but she finally got the idea and walked away.

Stomach complaining, Rika walked into the food court, dozens of bags and boxes in tow. _'Why did I buy so much crap?'_

She already knew she liked nothing she bought. Being summer, everything was bright and colourful, something she wasn't fond of. She preferred more neutral clothing.

Rika threw all her purchases on the nearest table before sitting down on the chair, quite tired from walking around a huge mall. Groaning, Rika put her hair in a loose ponytail. As she lowered her arms, she noticed Ryo several yards from her, talking to a girl their age that was obviously uninterested in him. His back was turned to her, so he didn't notice her.

_'How pathetic,'_ Rika thought, silently satisfied. It was nice knowing she wasn't the only one who thought he was a lame piece of rubbish.

"Please leave me alone!" the girl squealed, trying to walk away. Ryo grabbed her arm, something Rika had plenty of unwanted experience with.

"Ryo Akiyama, leave that girl alone!" she snapped, picking up a shoebox and throwing it at his back. "Can't you see she doesn't…"

Rika's eyes widened as 'Ryo' turned around. He was definitely not Ryo. In fact, the only thing their shared was similar hair and similar body type. He looked at least ten years older than Ryo.

"Are you talking to me?"

Rika immediately bowed her head and began to apologise. "Sorry! I'm so sorry! I thought you were somebody else. I—"

"Rika?" came a voice behind her. Rika jumped in surprise and slipped on the newly-mopped floor. She shut her eyes and let out a quiet scream, waiting for the painful fall. It never happened. Opening her eyes, she saw that Ryo had grabbed her. "What the hell are you doing? You look stupid."

"Let go of me!" Rika shoved him violently. "Didn't I tell you to stay away from me?"

"Yeah," Ryo replied simply, drawing his straw to his lips and taking a sip of his drink. "Getting ready to eat?"

"What do you care? Why don't you just go over there and leave me alone?"

"If you say so," Ryo shrugged and sat down on a table across hers.

"_Away from mine!_" Rika snapped. Ryo responded with a shrug, much to Rika's anger. Furious, she began to pick up her bags so she could move to another table.

"Wow, I never knew you shopped so much."

She ignored him.

"Your boyfriend is staring at you."

"What the hell are you talking—"

"Turn around. Your boyfriend is gawking at your ass."

"Stop staring at my—"

"Well, hello there." Rika dropped her bags again and turned around. The man she had mistaken for Ryo earlier smiled at her. He talked in a slight Australian accent. "Are you Japanese? That's what you were speaking, Japanese?"

"No speeka Engrish," This was her typical response to any foreigner who hit on her. Although she was fluent, this simple sentence usually chased unwanted company away.

Ryo, who was watching this scene from his table, choked on his Coke.

"Really?" The Australian smiled, amused. Up close, he looked nothing like Ryo. This man had darker eyes and a wider nose. Ryo's cheeks were a bit more chiselled than his as well. The man had a tattoo on his arm that Rika had not noticed before.

"No, I'm lying," Rika said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She gasped and put her hands over her mouth, realising she had just spoken English out of habit. This was Australia, damnit! She wasn't going to speak Japanese in public!

Oh wait, she just had with Ryo.

"Please go away."

"Do you wanna go grab a pint?"

Rika honestly had no idea what he meant by that, but that didn't matter. She wasn't about to 'grab' anything with this man. "No thanks, but I'm hungry—"

"Want to share lunch?"

"No."

"Why not?"

He was actually a lot like Ryo. "I'm suddenly not hungry."

"I'll pay."

"I can pay for myself, thanks." Getting agitated, Rika began to walk away. He took her wrist. "HEY!"

"Why are you playing hard-to-get? What's your name?"

"I'm not 'playing' anything!"

"You're playing hard-to-get."

"No, actually, I'm trying to tell you to fuck off without actually saying it."

He scooped down, picked up her bags, and handed them to her. "My name's Steve."

She took them and swung them across his head. She heard something in her bag shatter, but she didn't care. "Will you fuck off alre—ow!"

A force had grabbed her by the wrist and was dragging her out of the food court and away from Steve. "Ryo, let me go right now!"

"Are you stupid!" Ryo snapped. He took her shoulder and slammed it a bit harder than he had expected to the wall. "You can get arrested for assault, you know!"

"I know," Rika said, glaring while ignoring the pain coming from her right shoulder blade. "I also know I never asked for your help."

"Well, you needed it."

"I did not!"

"No, Rika, you really did. If I hadn't come in, he would probably have hit you. Then you'd hit him again. Then there would be a huge commotion. Police would come and both of you will probably go to the station. Guess who'd get blamed for that. That's right, me."

"It's always about you, huh?"

Ryo's grip on her increased in fury. "It's one thing to tell a guy you don't like him. It's another to hit his face with… whatever all that was!"

"I'm not stupid, you are!" Rika ignored the increasing pressure on her wrists. "I wasn't going to hit him again. I wasn't going to get myself arrested. I'm not a baby. You don't think I can take care of myself, but I can."

"No, you really can't."

"I can't help it if you disagree with my approach to weird strangers!"

"At least I have enough will power to hold in my anger instead of exploding every time something doesn't go my way."

"Hold in your anger, huh?" Rika promptly looked down at her wrist.

Ryo threw her hand aside. "You know what, just go. Go back to that guy and hit him again. If you go to jail and they give you one phone call, please call me. I want to hang up on your only call."

As soon as he walked away, Rika looked poorly at her wrist. The shopping bag handles were imprinted on her skin—and it definitely hurt.

"Why are you following me?"

"I'm not."

"Yeah, you are."

"The shop I want to go to just happens to be in this direction."

Rika turned around and faced Ryo, who was several metres behind her. "And what shop would that be?"

Ryo looked ahead and said the first shop he saw. "Barnes and Nobles."

"Do you expect me to believe you read?"

"I want to read that new Harry Potter book," Ryo lied.

"Right. Well then, I'll walk this way." Rika began to walk the opposite direction.

"Where are you going?"

"Does it matter?"

"No."

"Then why do you care?"

"I don't."

"Then why did you ask?"

"To be nice."

"How is asking me where I'm going nice?"

"It means I actually care where you're going."

"How is that nice?"

"That's indirectly caring about you."

"Funny you should mention indirect meaning. Let me teach you another one: when a person suddenly walks the other way after you mention where you're going, they're indirectly saying they want you to fuck off."

"I know."

"Obviously, no, you don't."

"I'm choosing to ignore that indirect meaning, which brings us back to me caring about you."

"So you care about me?"

"Of course not."

"Then what's with the indirectly caring bullshit?"

"I pretend to care for you, but in reality, I'm caring for my own safety from our parents. Haven't I already gone over this?"

"Whatever," Rika waved a shopping bag. "I'm going that way. You go into your little book store and buy your little Harry Potter book."

"I will."

"40 for this crap?" Ryo muttered, looking at his adult edition of the sixth Harry Potter book. He really did not get the whole phenomenon. Of course, he never read any of the books. He watched the third movie, and he fallen asleep for about three fourths of it.

Hours later, TK finally left his room. He thought he heard Kari enter her room, but when he walked out, he realised she had been in her room the whole time and was just leaving it. She was reading a novel that honestly could have bored TK to death.

Still furious at her, he jabbed his shoulder fiercely across hers, making her drop her novel.

"Hey!"

He ignored her and continued to the kitchen.

"I'm _talking_ to you!" Kari marched to him and shut the refrigerator door as he opened it. "TK!"

He glanced at her for a second, then shoved her hand off and opened the fridge door again.

"What is wrong with—" Kari stopped upon noticing a large bruise on TK's arm. "Hey, you're bruised!"

"Wow, thanks for noticing!" TK gave her a fake smile. "'Oh, I'm so sorry TK!' No problem, Kari. It only hurts a lot. 'Speaking of apologies, I'm also sorry for ruining your **goddamn** _**car**_!'"

TK shouted the last two words, frightening Kari slightly.

"I didn't—"

"Forget it," TK snapped, angrily shutting the door and slamming a can of Sprite on the counter.

"No," Kari said sternly. "You're making false accusations!"

"'False accusations' my ass," TK muttered. He positioned his finger to open the can, but realised that after shaking it up like that, Sprite squirting in his face would only ruin his moment.

"How did I ruin your car?"

"I don't know; you put a tear on the door!"

"I didn't mean to!"

"So you **did** ruin my car," TK declared.

"I didn't 'ruin' it. I put a small hole in it. Besides, it's just a car."

"Just a car? Pay to repair it, then I'll agree that it's 'just a car'!"

"I was mad at you!" Kari exclaimed. "You were being so mean, so I couldn't help but be mean back! You're not exactly the nicest person—"

"Because I'm not, Kari!" TK exclaimed, looking at her desperately. "I'm not nice to you. I don't _want_to be nice to you. I want you to die so I can get out of this damned place. I want to spend my holiday with friends, not sitting around doing nothing with you. I tried to be nice, and you tore a hole in my car!"

"I did that before you tried to be nice to me!" Kari shrieked, her voice rising to match TK's. "Good job of keeping up with that, by the way!"

"I slept through over half of Christmas because you didn't wake me up! How do you not expect—"

"It's not my fault you overslept!"

"You had the chance to wake me up!"

"At seven!"

"Seven is a normal time, Kari!"

Kari crossed her arms. "Should I wake you up at seven from now on then?"

"If it's necessary!"

"Fine! And another thing. You make it sound like you're the tortured one and I'm just peachy keen. Do you think I _like_ spending my life with you? Do you think I like the idea of—"

"You reminisce about the past a lot, so, yes, I think you do."

Kari gasped. "I reminisce? Are you functionally retarded! You named almost everything we—"

"'Just so you know, TK, putting mud in your hair does _nothing_!'" TK mimicked in a high-pitched voice. "Shut up, Kari, you started it. I only did it to make you happy."

"You think remembering that I was ever friends with you would make me happy!" Kari shrieked in disgust.

"Uh, yeah," TK rolled his eyes. "You were so damn emotional after I blew you off and—"

"I was eleven!"

"You stare at me all the time during lunch!"

"I do not!"

"Do you think I'm blind? I see you, my friends see you, everybody in the whole damn cafeteria sees you! Somebody wrote a love note to me—from you—and put it in my locker."

Kari flushed. "Don't flatter yourse—"

"It's not flattering; it's embarrassing," TK said through clenched teeth. "If the school finds out I'm_engaged_ to you, my reputation is gone. Actually, I bet it's probably gone by now."

"Well, sorry for embarrassing you with my existence. Heaven forbid your high school social status lower because of me!"

He had never been so angry in his life. He wanted to hurt her. Bad. He wanted to hurt her horribly, terribly. Both emotionally and physically. He honestly had no idea why he was so mad at her. She merely had made a tear. Ryo had once keyed an entire side of his car when drunk, and he hadn't been this angry. Then again, he was also drunk and Ryo gave his car a new paint job to conceal it.

"You have no reason to be mad at me, Kari."

"Should I list all the reasons?"

"Things that happened presently, yes. None of that 'remember when we were four' crap."

"I wasn't going to do that," Kari said dangerously. "Okay, first of all, you bought me flowers."

"Oh, wow," TK rolled his eyes. "Insult!"

"You bought them for the wrong reason! Were you actually sorry? No."

"And how would you know that?"

"I'm not stupid."

"That's a stupid answer and a stupid reason to be mad."

"You only tried to be nice after I saved your life!"

"_Saved my life!_" TK bellowed. "When did you save my fucking—"

"And stop cussing!"

"—life!" TK took a step towards her to intimidate her, and it seemed to work as she flinched. "You mean giving me milk because I coughed? Why would you guys offer me a goddamn brick to eat anyway! Your mum—"

"Don't you dare insult my mum, TK!"

"Your mum _sucks_ at cooking," TK challenged.

Kari shrieked, picked up the nearest thing—a container of sugar—and threw it at TK. She missed and hit the refrigerator, but the sugar quickly engulfed TK as the container exploded.

She froze, staring at TK's frozen face. The container had exploded centimetres from his face.

"Holy shit, you're mad!" TK declared. "Are you—"

Kari let out another shriek and stormed out of the kitchen.

"No, you don't!" TK angrily took her arm and pulled her towards him before she could enter her room. "What the hell is wrong with you! That could have _actually_ killed me!"

"That's what I was aiming for."

Anger flowed through TK as he gripped her wrist tighter. "You psychotic, mental—"

"Ow!" Kari yelped, pulling harder on TK's finger. "Stop, that hurts!"

"That's what I was aiming for," TK hissed dangerously.

"I was kidding when I said that!"

"Well, I'm not."

"Then you're heartless!"

"I'm heartless for wanting to hurt a person who nearly _killed_ me!"

"I purposely threw it at the refrigerator!" Kari said, wincing at the pain of TK's grip. Her fingers couldn't move even one of his fingers, no matter how hard she tried. "TK, please just—"

TK took her other wrist and held to that too. "I want an apology. For everything. Every damn thing you've done to me. And I want you to start from when we were toddlers."

"I can't remember—"

"Then start from when we were eleven," TK demanded.

"You were the one who started—"

"Because you got annoying!" TK yelled, way too close to her face. She flinched hearing him scream. "You followed me everywhere. You waited for me after every class. I couldn't even go to the damn toilet without you being outside. If I told you I wanted to go watch a movie with other friends, you'd invite yourself and tag along."

"Because you were my best friend, you bastard!"

She screamed that with a voice louder than she had ever used in her life. Then she broke down in tears. She lost balance as her body turned limp as she focused on crying. The only thing that prevented her from sliding to the floor was TK firm grip on her wrists.

"What do you want, Kari? Do you want me to feel sorry for you?" TK glared at her. "Do you think this is my fault? I made new friends, so it's my fault. You and I both know you were the reason. You used me, and you know it. Best friend my ass." TK let go of her wrists and she slid to the floor, still crying. "I'm going for a walk."

As soon as TK left, Kari put her knees together and cried in them. It wasn't her fault. It wasn't. It was his.

_"I made it!" Takeru announced, running to Kari and hugging her._

_"Oh, my gosh!" Kari squealed happily as he raised her in the air and spun her around. "We're going to be so popular!"_

_Takeru stopped spinning her. "Popular?"_

_"Yeah, everybody knows jocks are popular—like my brother! And now you're a jock! And I'm your best friend, so that technically makes me popular too!"_

_Takeru laughed and spun her again. "Whatever you say."_

_"G… girlfriend?" Kari blinked. "Why would you go out with her? She's so… ugh."_

_"She's my girlfriend, Kari," Takeru looked up. "I just thought, you know, you'd be happy for me."_

_"Happy? Well, of course I'm happy! I just think she's kind of a waste of your time, you know?"_

_"Waste of my time?" He looked insulted. "How is Hina a waste of my time?"_

_"She's just… I don't know. I just don't think she's right for you."_

_"I do."_

_"Well, maybe you're confused."_

_Kari watched that wretched Hina giggle, pulling on the collar of Takeru's shirt playfully with one hand and stroking his hair with the other. His hands were on her waist, and he looked at her lovingly._

_She walked up to them. "Hi Takeru!"_

_His hands slid off her waist, and her hands found their way back into her jean pockets, where they belonged. They both looked very uncomfortable._

_"Oh, hey Kari," Takeru muttered, not particularly happy. "What's up?"_

_"Nothing. What about you?"_

_Hina gave a small cough and put her head on Takeru's shoulder. "TK—"_

_"Oh, hi!" Kari said cheerfully. "We've never met. I'm Kari Kamiya."_

_"Hina," she said, not taking her gaze off Takeru's eyes. "TK, do you want to go somewhere more private?"_

_"Um…"_

_Kari pouted. "Takeru, do you want to come over today?"_

_"Actually," Hina wrapped her arms around Takeru's neck, "we have plans. Movie. Sorry, Katie."_

_"Oh, that's fine! I'll come too!"_

_"Kari, I—" Takeru stopped when he saw Kari's sudden sad face. He looked at Hina. "She can come, right?"_

_Hina frowned. "I guess, if she _really_ wants to."_

_"Yay!" Kari ran into Takeru's arms, hugging him dearly._

_"Um…" Takeru laughed nervously. Hina was hugging his neck, Kari was hugging his torso. Awkward indeed._

_"Hmph," Hina said, letting go of Takeru. "On second thought, TK, I can't come. I just remembered I have to baby-sit my brother."_

_"Hina, wai—"_

_"Oh, that's too bad," Kari finished. "It's okay. We'll just go together!"_

_Finally used to his new nickname, Kari proudly waved at her best friend. "TK!"_

_He didn't appear to hear her. He took Hina by the shoulder and walked away._

_"TK, want to go to my place?"_

_"Sorry, I have things to do."_

_"We can do them together!"_

_"Guy stuff."_

_"Oh, well I can learn!"_

_"What he's trying to say," Hina smiled smugly at Kari, "is he is uninterested in hanging out with you."_

_TK shuffled uncomfortably. "No, it's just—"_

_"You can't break our friendship, Hina!" Kari declared._

_TK winced. "Kari… I can't hang out with you today."_

_"Fine!" Kari's smile disappeared. "I don't _want_ to hang with you anywhere. You're so boring now."_

Kari screamed and covered her ears with her hands. It was not her fault!

Ryo tossed and turned repeatedly until he finally sat up, frustrated. He looked across the room to where Rika was lying comfortably on her bed and groaned. "Having fun?"

"Sh!" Rika hissed, eyes glued to Ryo's new Harry Potter book. "I used to think this was crap, but it's actually not too bad!"

Ryo groaned, lied back down, and pulled his duvet over his head. "Can we please go to sleep?"

"Ryo, if you're going to be so whiny, sleep in the closet. Or the balcony. Or with your parents. Or something. I'm _reading_."

"It's already—" Ryo looked at his watch. "Oh, it's only nine. Damn, that sure ruined the moment."

"I don't get why you bought this if you aren't even going to read it," Rika said, looking at him as if he were an idiot. "You're so stupid."

Ryo angrily put the pillow over his head as well. Why wouldn't the damn light go off! "Rika, could you read that somewhere else?"

"No."

"Can you read it tomorrow?"

"No."

"Damnit, read it tomorrow!" Ryo yelled, throwing his pillow and duvet off him.

"No!"

Muttering angrily, Ryo sat up again. "Why the hell not?"

"I guess it's just fun to see you seethe in anger, while I'm enjoying myself," Rika gave him an innocent smile. Ryo mentally wondered why he didn't just throw Rika out of the balcony when she was drunk.

Perhaps it was that small consequence of spending the rest of his life in jail.

"I suppose I can let you sleep after I finish this chapter though," Rika said matter-of-factly. Truth be told, she was getting rather bored of the book herself.

"How kind of you to think of me," Ryo muttered, lying back down.

TK shivered in the cold as he was still wearing a t-shirt and boxers, his sleepwear. He knew he must have looked like a homeless man, walking around in almost nothing, but he had been too angry to put on anything else. Besides, walking into his room and picking out a pair of trousers would have ruined the atmosphere he was trying to set.

He fussed with his hair, making sugar escape and fall along with the snow.

It was the first snow of the winter, yet all he felt was bitterness. Snow was one of his (secretly) favourite things, but the last thing he wanted to be near was anything he liked. He wanted to be surrounded by everything in his life that he hated, which actually was not a lot. He was pretty much open to everything.

"TK?"

_'Damn,'_ TK thought, realising somebody had recognised him—and his pathetic state. He looked up and saw Hina. _'Damn.'_

"Why are you walking around town naked?"

"I am not naked," TK said, agitated.

"Aren't you cold?"

"No."

"You're shivering!"

"Maybe you're shivering and not feeling it, so it only looks like I'm shivering."

Hina's brows furrowed, knowing TK usually was not this bitter to her. "TK, are you okay?"

"Yes."

Hina took his hands and held them to her cheeks. "TK, you're freez—oh, my gosh. You have a bruise! Oh, my God. Were you just mugged?"

TK's anger faded at Hina's dramatisation. "No. That's from—something else. I'm just taking a walk."

"In your underwear?"

"I'm not wearing underwear!" TK snapped. "I mean, I am, but I—I mean—damn you, Hina!"

Hina smiled. "I haven't seen you all winter!"

"Yeah, I've been busy with stuff," TK lied. "Have a good Christmas?"

"Yep, what about you?"

TK feigned a smile. "Perfect."

"I didn't buy you a present, so do you want me to go buy you some trousers?"

TK laughed. "No, because then I'll have to buy you a present."

TK blew on his noodles before putting it in his mouth. When TK refused her offer to buy him pants, she bought him ramen instead to warm him up.

"I heard from Ryo that you're engaged." TK coughed suddenly and noodles fell out of his mouth. Hina didn't seem to mind such a repulsive sight. "I heard you're engaged to Kari. And you moved house with her."

TK gave several more coughs. _'Damn Ryo! I knew I shouldn't have said anything to him!'_

"I guess that means you did," Hina said quietly, pushing her glass of water at him. He reached for it and took a gulp. "Congratulations, I guess."

TK put his glass of water down and gave a final cough. "What? Are you kidding? Me? Engaged? To her? No!"

Hina bit the tip of her chopsticks and looked at TK, smiling. "You're a terrible liar."

TK winced. "Please don't tell anybody."

"Of course not, silly," Hina dipped her chopsticks in the soup once again. "I'm not that bitchy."

"Thanks," he muttered, suddenly losing his appetite.

Hina set her chopsticks down and turned her chair towards TK. "So, I want to know everything."

"About what?"

"About your new life with that Kari person!"

"What's there to tell?"

Hina gave TK the you-know-what-I'm-talking-about look that she did so well. "Do you guys, like, crap in front of each other?"

"What!" TK was shocked Hina would ask this as her first question. "What kind of a question is that?"

"Well, do you? Or do you wait until she's gone? Or what?"

"Hina, don't you think it's a little strange that you're asking me about my hygienic habits—"

"Well, then, do you sleep together?"

"What!" TK's elbow slipped and accidentally knocked a glass of water over. Luckily, it was emptied earlier when he had choked. "No, no! Are you kidding?"

"Just wondering," said Hina wryly, giving her shoulders a small shrug. "I know you two used to be, like, really good friends and all."

"Why does everybody, all of the sudden, bring up that whole best-friend deal!" TK snapped, agitated that everybody was bringing it up after six entire years of silence.

"Um, gee, I don't know. Maybe because you're getting married to the girl!"

TK stood up. "I might be engaged, Hina, but there is no way on Earth I'm going to say 'I do' when the time comes."

When Ryo woke up, the lights in the room were still on. Furious, but needing to use the toilet, he made for the bathroom instead of the lights. Eyes squinting, he pushed open the door.

A shriek engulfed the area, followed by Ryo's eyes not really squinting anymore. He immediately shut the door. He had walked in the middle of Rika finishing up her shower. As in she was getting ready to dry her hair when he walked in. A towel was around her body, thank goodness, but he knew she would yell at him anyway.

"Are you crazy!" shrieked an outraged Rika from behind the door. "Haven't you ever heard of knocking!"

"Haven't _you_ ever heard of locking the door?" Ryo asked, leaning against the door.

"We can't lock it, dumbass! Don't you remember?"

"How do you know I wasn't knocking when the door opened? If we can't close it, we can't exactly knock, can we?" He might as well have fun with her. He was, after all, the only way she could get out of the bathroom.

"As soon as I get out of here, I swear to God, I will kill you!"

"One time, I walked in when my friend was changing. She almost killed me."

"I'm not that girl! I _will_ kill you!"

Ryo chuckled. "How can you kill me if you can't get out?"

He heard her desperately trying to open the door. "Ryo, let me out right now!"

"Apologise to me."

"Stop playing games, and let me out!"

"You threatened me again, Rika. I want an apology."

"No!"

"Then you can stay here all night."

"Please, I know you, and you wouldn't do that."

"I bet I will."

"I bet you won't."

"Is that a challenge? I seem to remember a certain someone who locked me in there for several hours."

Rika didn't respond.

"Go on, then, apologise."

"I'm sorry for threatening you."

"Now, now, that doesn't sound very apologetic."

Rika's grip on the door handle tightened. "I'm really sorry for threatening you, and I promise I'll try not to do it again."

"And what will you do once I let you out?" Ryo's grin widened even more, imagining her face from behind the door.

Behind the door, Rika was raged beyond all reason. "I don't know, _Ryo_, what should I do?"

"How about letting me have the bed for the rest of the stay here?"

"How about not?"

"How about I just let you stay there until your mum decides to look for you?"

Knowing Rumiko Makino, she would trust whatever Ryo would say. Unlike her daughter, she was easily under his charm, thinking he was, by far, one of the greatest people on Earth.

"So, like I was saying, I get the bed?"

"Fine."

"And if I want the telly, I get the telly."

"_Fine_."

"And if I want to do something, and my parents say you have to tag along, you have to tag along."

"_**Okay**_, God damnit, let me out!"

"And I get first dibs at the shower."

"_**OKAY!**_"

Ryo opened the door, and Rika walked out. "You do realise I'm still seeing you?"

Rika thrust the doors of her walk-in wardrobe open. "Yes, and if you don't either shut you eyes or get on your bed in the next millisecond, I will honestly throw this drawer at you."

"You'll throw the drawer me?" Ryo asked, still standing at the bathroom door. "I doubt you could lift that without hurting yourself."

Rika shut the door in his face.

Ryo lied on his king-sized bed, content. He had honestly expected Rika to have told him tough luck, kick him, and force him back on the couch.

But she hadn't. He was in the bed, more comfortable than he had been in the longest time, and Rika was to sleep on the couch.

When she walked back into the room, Ryo smiled widely at her. "Hi Rika."

She walked to the bed, seized the pillow from under Ryo's head and walked back to her couch.

Now pillow-less, Ryo got up and walked to the couch with her. "Aw, are you angry?"

Rika threw the second pillow over the one Ryo usually used. "Go away."

Ryo slipped his hand under Rika's pillow to take his pillow. "After I take this, thanks."

Rika glared at him before lying down.

"Are you really mad?" he asked, standing over her.

"No, I'm completely enjoying myself," she muttered, turning her head.

He squatted next to her. "Are you really comfortable?"

Rika glared at Ryo, who was uncomfortably centimetres from her face. "Yes."

"Really?" He set his elbow at the edge of the couch and looked at her with feigned interest. "I always found it awfully discomforting."

"Perhaps it's because you're really fat, so half of you was hanging off?" guessed Rika.

He smiled as her breath hit his face. "Had a smoke in the wardrobe, eh? Your clothes must smell like hell."

She glared at him. "Are you going to sleep anytime soon?"

Ryo sat down. "I just decided this is funner."

"Since when is talking to me fun?"

"Since I saw you trying to sleep on a settee."

"Just leave me alone," she muttered, turning her head again so he was staring at the back of her head.

"Fine, g'night, Rika." He stood up and lightly hit the back of her head with his pillow before making his way back to the bed. Once again, she did the unexpected. He had thought she would scream and hit him, but she laid there in silence once again.

He almost missed her annoying self.

TK sleepily tried to find the keyhole on his doorknob. His hand was too tired to stay still, so his key scratched the door and knob before it finally secured its place in the hole. He twisted the key and turned the knob, but it was locked. Realising Kari hadn't locked the door, he twisted the key back and turned the knob again. There was a small light flickering from Kari's room, but besides that, there was no other light in the flat, further promoting his sleep.

Suddenly, Kari's door opened and she emerged, dressed in what he assumed were his clothes. Before he could complain, she ran to him and hugged him tightly.

Half-asleep and stunned, TK just stood there, door still open, wind and icy snow still hitting his already-cold skin. Except he didn't realise any of it. The warmth of Kari's warm skin upon his icy one soothed him, and for the first time since Christmas, he felt content.

Then he realised what Kari was actually doing.

Kari was clutching his t-shirt, and she appeared to be sobbing and murmuring into it. After a short lapse of no thought, he took her by the shoulders and tried to get her off him. When he took her by the shoulders, she clutched his shirt harder, wrinkling the fabric and digging her nails into her own skin. He wanted to yell at her. He wanted to tell her to get the hell off him. He didn't, as he couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

"Kari, are you okay?" he asked as gently as he could.

TK was cut short as Kari threw her arms around his torso. "You were right, TK. It was my fault. I did push you away. I was using you."

"No, wait!" He was stunned even further, not knowing if he was supposed to console her. Truth be told, he was making it up. He couldn't remember how they broke their friendship. He remembered him making new friends, Kari not liking it, then him blowing her off. And that was it. "I was making that up, so—"

"But it's true!" Kari squeezed TK harder, making it harder and harder for him to breathe. His throat was already coarse from walking in the cold. "TK, I am so, so sorry."

The guilt that was in his throat was already the size of an apple. Kari just made it swell to the size of two watermelons. "Kari, I was kidding. I don't even… care."

TK had originally meant to say that he couldn't remember, but he realised that might insult Kari. It probably would not have made much difference, as Kari was still grasping him and crying.

"You were right," she said through sobs. "I do stare at you during lunch. And I did mutilate your car. And I did like it when you reminisced. And I do miss being friends with you. And everything else you said, it's all true!"

"Oh," TK said, not knowing how to respond. "Here, um, Kari, we can, uh, we can, er, eat! Er… or something."

As TK closed the flat door, he realised how stupid his suggestion actually sounded. Kari was still clinging to him like a monkey, which made it very difficult to move, but he wasn't about to shove her off and make her cry again. Aside from Kari's emotional condition, the most important thing was that Kari had not told on him to Tai or, even worse, Matt. Tai could technically hurt him, but not to the point of a bloody pulp. His parents would sue. Matt could and force TK to say he accidentally hurt himself.

That happened once, actually. Matt was trying to get a bicycle downstairs when the movers decided to put it in their apartment. When it didn't fit into the elevator, he had to use the stairs. His hands slipped and the bike rolled down the stairs and on top of TK. It hurt like hell, and TK could have sworn he died, but Matt had begged—and eventually threatened—to make TK tell his parents he had tried to steal the bike, tripped, and fell down a flight of stairs. He ended up getting no television for a week, and Matt got nothing.

It kind of annoyed him whenever he thought of the story.

But, anyway, Kari. He had somehow dragged her into the kitchen, and after slight pushing, she had let go of him and sat quietly at the breakfast table, silently crying.

TK felt awful as he looked in the refrigerator for anything for her to drink. He took out a carton of orange juice, still feeling guilty. The first time in his life that he made a believable lie, it had to make a person cry. It had to make Kari cry. He thought about what he said to Hina and felt worse. He admitted he could be an asshole at times, but his conscious always got the best of him. And he couldn't forget the way he nearly cut the circulation to her hands off. He assumed they were okay by the way she tightly held his shirt.

He took out two glasses from a cupboard, surprisingly not dropping them as he his brain was elsewhere.

"TK?" Kari's voice was so soft he could barely here her, but he was instantly snapped out of his trance. He took the carton, glasses, and a random bag and immediately followed the sound of her voice.

Upon entering her room, he realised she was wearing his shirt. His shirt from a The Darkness concert, actually. He liked that shirt. He was examining the devil's tail on the shirt when his eyes shifted up to Kari's face. She was looking at the wall rather than him, and she looked absolutely miserable. Her eyes were puffed up from crying, and her tangled and messed hair indicated she had gone on a pretty bad rampage.

He forced a cheery exterior, pulled a chair close to Kari's, and sat down. He poured orange juice in the glasses and set one in front of Kari. He opened the bag and found they were mixed nuts. Grinning, he carefully took out the almonds, peanuts, and dried bananas. When they were children, she ate those three, he ate the M&M's, and the rest were given to her cat, Miko.

Kari finally took her glass and held it, but didn't drink out of it. TK set the almonds, peanuts, and dried bananas in front of her. As soon as she saw them, she burst into tears again.

Another slight form of panic swept through him again. Because he was sitting so close to her, he nervously patted her shoulder. He had never had experience with girls bursting into tears when they saw his face, which was actually insulting, now that he thought about it.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to… offend you…" TK felt stupid for what felt like the hundredth time. He couldn't have offended her! He didn't _do_ anything. Unless she thought it was horrible that he was picking out her favourites for her. That was a nice thing, not bad! Damnit, he wouldn't mind if people did it for him more often. "Hey, look, I'm sorry if I'm, er, making you cry. I'm not trying to, honest!"

The next few moments were one of the most awkward moments of his life, him sitting there and staring at his hand petting Kari's shoulder, Kari sobbing uncontrollably.

Finally, in what seemed around a millennium to TK, Kari spoke.

"Why do you do that? Why do you always point out things from our past when you were the one who told me to, and I quote, 'fuck off'?"

TK could have sworn he didn't swear back then, but considering he did know Kari's memory was a heck lot better than his, he didn't question it.

"I dunno," he muttered, his response to every odd question.

Kari's lips curved upwards in a knowing way. "I knew you'd say that."

Not knowing how to respond to that, he took his orange juice and held it to his lips. Instead of drinking, he looked at Kari through the transparent green glass.

There she was, in the chair in his shirt. Besides obvious parts that developed with age, she was almost exactly like when he last truly looked at her, six years ago, back when they were eleven. Back when both were so innocent, so young, and so unadulterated by peer pressure or any sort of judgment besides what they had for each other.

Her back was perfectly poised even in tears, ballet being the sure credit. He realised his back was also in perfect posture, Kari being the sure credit. He used to drive her crazy when he slouched, so she would point out his hunched shoulders whenever he did so. Her legs weren't crossed, but if she wasn't so miserable, they would be crossed. He remembered her trying to teach him that as well, and this time, she failed miserably. He was about as flexible as a metal pole, and Kari was quick to learn that. She had always been quick to catch onto such things, though she often tried to teach him what she knew. If she learned a trivial fact on telly, she would call him, regardless of time, to tell him. These were her old habits.

A white smile always on her face, slightly chiselled cheeks always aglow, eyes sparkling as if they were her smile, hair always out of her face as she couldn't be bothered with frivolous fringes, ears not pierced due to her fear of needles, a slight bump on her nose from when he had accidentally thrown a basketball at her face, a small scar under her chin from when she fell on concrete and a sharp shear of glass pierced her skin, and though she tanned easily, she was light-skinned, thanks to sunscreen. Not particularly beautiful, but definitely not hideous. She was a bit plain, yet this was Kari physically.

Smart, kind, sincere, gentle, loving, mature. She could be mean if she wanted, as she had proved since the day they learned of their engagement. This was Kari mentally, simple as that.

And he didn't want to pretend to forget her anymore. It was like he said before during Christmas. Matt told him to forget his parents making out, and he told him that it was impossible. This was the same, except instead of this peace in his family, it was for his preteen social status. The more he thought of it, the more he wanted to kick himself.

He missed how Kari always took time out of her life to explain certain things he didn't understand. He missed how she would lie, and though both knew she was lying, it would make TK feel so much better. He missed how she was the one to go to when he got full marks or a sticker for being good. He missed how genuinely excited she was for him. He missed almost everything about her now. None of his other friends was anything like her. Ryo, his supposed best friend, often ignored him when he was moody.

He fixed his gaze at Kari, who looked back at him, completely opposite of how he looked at her. She was disappointed, negative, ashamed. He, in no way, deserved to be in her presence. She knew that. He knew that.

Yet, he refused to believe that.

"Kari," he said slowly, determined to get honesty and authenticity gliding through his answer this time. "I'm sorry. About everything. Everything I ever did, I'm so sorry. From when we were eleven to whatever I just did a couple seconds ago, I'm sorry. I know I was being a jackass. And it wasn't your fault. I don't even know what I was saying. Of course it was me. I ignored you and—"

"Are you saying you want to be friends again?" Kari asked bluntly.

TK had no intention in doing so, though he did want to have peace within the household.

He could accept Kari as part of his life, but he didn't think he could as a friend. She was unlike any friend he had. It seemed weird to classify her as one, especially after holding a grudge against her for so long.

Yet what else was he to do?

"Yes."

Kari's response surprised him. Grinning widely, she flung herself in his arms. "Let's have a pillow fight."

"A what?"

Kari screamed as she jumped from TK's bed to the floor, whopping a plush pillow on TK's head and nearly knocking him over. While he didn't fall, he managed to hit his head on the wall. Kari didn't appear to care, as she repeatedly hit his head over again.

Apparently, according to Kari's words, they did this a lot when they were children. She also mentioned that he always cried after the first hit, which he refused to believe.

"You're still nothing but a weakling, aren't you Take?"

For some reason, her calling him that horrendous nickname didn't result in him losing his temper or blushing into a wild shade of fuchsia.

He instead held up his own pillow, trying to defend himself without actually harming Kari. He might as well try to enjoy this embarrassment.

"Yeah, right." TK lightly hit Kari on the head, and she stared at him.

"You're letting me win!" she declared furiously.

"I am not."

"You're hitting me softer than a baby would!" Kari tried to cross her arms, but the pillow got in the way and she dropped it.

"I am not." When Kari reached down to retrieve her pillow, TK used his entire might to hit her back.

"Ow!" she squealed, falling to the floor.

He dropped his pillow and kneeled beside her. "Oh, my gosh, are you okay? I didn't mean to—"

TK was interrupted as Kari slammed a pillow on his face and laughed.

"That's it! Now I'm mad." TK made a grab for his pillow, but Kari took it and slammed that in his face as well. "Hey, no fair!"

The childishness in his voice was actually beginning to sicken him, but he couldn't help it. He gave Kari a small pout, hoping it would have the same effect as it did on so many others.

"Don't pout at me, Takeru Takaishi. I am unaffected by your little baby gestures." Smiling, Kari tossed his pillow back at him.

TK didn't have a chance to try and hit her, however, as she hit him over and over again. For a pillow, it sure did pack a wallop.

It suddenly stopped, and TK, who had been in the fetal position, looked up. Kari had slid on something on his messy floor and was on the ground.

"You should really tidy up the place," she mumbled, getting up.

TK allowed her to use his hand for support as she straightened herself up. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." Kari brushed her knees.

"Maybe we shouldn't play this—"

Kari slammed the side of his head with her pillow and let out a whinge as she found herself falling with TK. She had forgotten she was gripping his arm.

"I think you just crushed half my ribs," TK grunted, lifting Kari off him by the arms. He coughed several times. "I think your elbow punctured my left lung."

"Oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Kari scrambled off him and helped him sit upright. "Are you okay? Do you need water?"

"I'm fine," he choked, giving her a smile. "Damn, you owned me."

"I always own you," Kari said, smiling at him.

TK felt a pang of guilt. Here Kari was, smiling as if her long lost best friend had finally come out of his asshole shell, and there he was, pretending to be that long lost best friend when he was actually still an asshole.

The guilt was killing him.

"Kari, do you consider me your best friend again?"

Kari's smile faded. "Well, I don't know much about you anymore, do I?"

"I guess not." TK gave a small frown, though he felt a lot better inside for a split second. Then he saddened. It was true that they didn't know much about each other and it hurt. They used to know everything about each other.

Kari shrugged. "Oh well, we have the rest of our lives to learn more about each other if one of us don't find our significant other, don't we? And I know we both can't find true love in just a few months, so I'm just giving up on that. I guess your divorce idea is the best, isn't it? Unless we just not go through with this and say we won't get married, but I'm not sure how my parents would take that. I'm sure they won't like it…"

It hit TK then that he did care for her friendship. He cared about it a lot. A friendship that took years to generate was thrown down the drain because of him. He didn't want it to start over again with him playing some stupid lie. He wanted to start back where they left off and pretend the past six years never happened.

He watched Kari talk, though he wasn't listening to what she was saying. Her lips moved steadily, and although she was rambling, they moved softly, as ginger as she was. He blinked once and looked at her eyes that were looking back at him, every emotion she was feeling for her words in them.

He couldn't help himself as he grabbed Kari by the waist and pulled her in for a kiss. Kari immediately jerked his chest and let go. She stared at him through large brown eyes.

"We could try it, you know," he said lowly.

"I… I guess, but—"

That was enough for TK, who took her by the waist and locked his lips with hers once again. Along with the pain in his left lung and ribs, his heart beat faster and faster, making it feel as if his chest would explode. Kari, in shock, sat there for a while before she finally kissed him back, putting her entire heart into the kiss, letting go of all grudges she ever held against him, forgetting that she had pushed him away, forgetting that he broke their thread of friendship, but thinking only of their future from that point on.


	10. The First Day

And my excuse for a late update is my mad jetlag. I have been travelling from the UK to the US to Japan for various things, so I have jetlag no matter where I go.

Thanks for all the reviews! I loved reading them. And many thanks to Kelly, who has taken the time to proofread and Americanise my writing for the US fanbase this site has.

**Chapter 10: The First Day**

When Kari awoke the next morning, she found she had fallen asleep on TK's bed.

Her heart fluttered at the thought of the night before. She thought of every fiery kiss they shared, each of TK's warm touches, everything had seemed so surreal. Never in her life did she think she would fall for TK Takaishi. Even more, never in her life did she think TK Takaishi would fall for her.

But things like this happened every day, and it happened to them.

Therefore, she planned to enjoy every single, waking moment of it.

Smiling uncontrollably, she stretched her arms, grabbed TK's pillow, and hugged it to her face.

And that's when she realised TK was gone.

Rika slowly opened her eyes, the sunny new morning greeting her cheerfully, begging to be seen through her squinted eyes. An upbeat whistle emanated from Ryo's closet. The room smelled of a heavenly breakfast, a scent Ryo probably brought from the breakfast table in the lobby.

It was such a perfect morning, and Rika despised every detail about it. Her back hurt from sleeping on such an awkward position, and she had woken up countless times during the night due to other uncomfortable positions.

Ryo emerged from his closet, dressed in, oddly enough, a suit. The only thing missing in the ensemble was a tie.

"Good morning, Rika," he said cheerfully, throwing the missing tie around his neck. "Sleep well?"

"Yes."

"That's great to hear!" He walked to where she was, took the remote control, and changed the television station to the weather. "Sunny all day at twenty-three degrees! Isn't that great?"

"Wonderful." Rika narrowed her eyes. "Why are you so happy? And why are you dressed like that?"

Ryo chuckled and began to work with his tie. "I'm going somewhere, obviously. You're coming with me, by the way."

"I most certainly will not."

"You most certainly will too." Ryo tightened his tie, positioned it perfectly in place, picked up a watch from the table, and wrapped it around his wrist.

"Um, no, I'm not."

"Um, yeah, you are. You're my date."

"I'm sorry." Rika crossed her arms. "I don't seem to remember ever accepting this date."

"That's because I never asked you for one." Ryo fastened his watch. "Yet, it isn't like we ever have choices around here, do we? Would it make you feel better if I ask? Not that you'll accept, nor will your approval matter."

"Where are you going?"

"_We_ are going to go to some stupid party with our parents. Closing the deal, I'm assuming." Ryo straightened his jacket. "So, how do I look?"

"Like a pillock. Why wasn't I informed of this?"

"Oh, you mean I forgot to tell you? I was so sure I told you after your mum told me to tell you a couple days ago. Oops. Sorry." Ryo made his way into the bathroom looking very unsorry—to fix his hair, no doubt. "Your mum wanted you four days ago, by the way."

"Mum, what's going..." Rika faded off, seeing a handful of people running around frantically around her mother's room, holding various beauty and alteration supplies.

"Rika, there you are!" Her mother seized her arm and hurried her to a stool. "We have to hurry, honey. Time is so limited."

"What's going on?" Rika demanded as three people rushed to her side with hair and beauty products.

"Honey, I told you Christmas that we were going to an important party with Mr. Atsushi, Mr. Hagiwara, Mrs. Abukara, and Mr. Akiyama today."

"No, Mum, you didn't." Rika gave a man with scissors an icy glare, warning him not to come near her hair with that. "I don't even know who the first three people are."

"Yes, you do. Mrs. Abukara is the head of the international department at my modelling agency. We've had dinner with her plenty of times. Mr. Hagiwara is the head of the international department at Mr. Akiyama's business, and Mr. Atsushi is the man who will sign the deal for us." Rumiko winced as Rika pushed the hand of a makeup artist away from her face. "Rika, please do us all a favour and cooperate."

"No!" cried another makeup artist to the first who had tried to dab something on her, grabbing Rika by the arm and pulling her next to her. Her accent was heavily French. "I need you to put 'er in a dress before you smo-ther 'er face with makeup. Where are ze dresses?"

Another woman came running to them with a rack of many different dresses, just waiting for Rika to try on. Rika looked horrified as she looked at her mother.

"It's only for a couple hours, please?" Rumiko begged. "Ryo's going, so you won't feel left out."

"Ryo? Eez zat ze boyfriend?"

"No."

"Yes."

"You crazy people, make up your mind! I al'eady 'ave an 'eadache from all zees madness going on een 'ere."

"Yes, that's her date," Rumiko said, giving Rika a look that told her she need not to argue.

"What colour eez 'eez shirt or tie?"

Rumiko and the makeup artist looked at Rika. Rika stared back. "How would I know? It's not like I look at him when I don't need to."

"Went home for the day. Be back at night," Kari read TK's note on her bedroom door. Slight panic took over. Was TK regretting something? Something about her?

No, he couldn't be. He wasn't one of those run-away-from-problems people.

Still, she should call to check up on him. Would that be needy and nosy of her?

She reluctantly reached for her mobile.

"It amazes me how much more girl you are than guy," Matt commented. "Honestly, I thought you were Keira for a second. Did you see her, by the way?"

TK continued to arrange a vase of flowers in order by colour and height. His brother had called him to come due to an 'emergency', and now that he was here, it turned out Matt simply wanted TK's company. "No clue. Who's Keira?""

"Damn." Matt, not really concerned for his girlfriend's wellbeing, nor his brother's curiosity, walked to the refrigerator and took out a can of… beer. "Damn, I'm glad Dad shops a lot. We have nothing to drink around here. Or eat."

He opened the can.

"Yeah, you guys eat a lot," TK added sarcastically. When he had arrived, Matt and his dad were pureeing raw eggs for breakfast. Hardly TK's idea of appetising.

"We should go out and blow all our money to buy Dad crap he'll never eat."

"We could," TK agreed. "But I haven't any money, and I'm sure your girlfriend—I'm assuming she is your girlfriend—will appreciate you leaving her."

"Where is she anyway?" Matt turned his head slightly to the side as if she would be right next to him. And then proceeded to yell her name.

"Maybe she went home."

"Maybe," Matt agreed, as if that was the correct answer. "Or maybe she was never here. I thought I saw her a couple minutes before you came."

"This isn't a mansion, you know." TK walked out of the kitchen and opened a door. "It'll take a total of four seconds to find her if we actually look."

"Nah, want to go grocery shopping with me?"

"No, not really."

"I can't believe you're wearing a dress. I can't believe your dress matches my tie," Ryo said, laughing as he opened the taxi door that the two were to take to the party. "We look like a real couple, don't we?"

Rika lifted her light blue dress and stepped into the taxi. "I'm glad you think it's funny, because I personally find this whole situation appalling."

Ryo got inside as well and told the driver their destination. "Appalling? Why? You look like a redheaded Cinderella. And I'm your Prince Charming, except better-looking."

"And less charming. And not a prince."

Rika angrily threw the hem of her dress aside. She hated dresses, the light blue colour, Ryo, "parties", and taxis where the driver was able to hear every bit of her conversation. So far she was cursed with having to deal with all five.

"Believe me, Rika, if I was a prince, I wouldn't be wasting my winter holiday with the likes of you."

"Yeah, well, if I had somewhat of a choice, I wouldn't be wasting my winter holiday with the likes of you." Rika gathered her carefully styled hair and pulled it up in a dishevelled ponytail, destroying each perfectly placed strand. "Unfortunately, my mum's a dictator, so I don't."

Ryo rolled his eyes and looked out of the window. "Your hair looks good, Rika."

"So does yours," Rika said with equal sarcasm. "Stop talking to me."

"But you're my date!"

"Whatever happened to me not being worthy of your presence?"

Ryo ignored the question. "Since you're my date and all, I thought I'd call you Red. You know, a pet name. How about it then?"

"Go right ahead."

Kari's friend, Yolei Inoue, was sitting in the lounge of Kari's flat, looking very amazed at the surroundings.

"So you're _engaged_?" she asked for the millionth time.

"Yes, Yolei, I'm engaged," she repeated calmly for the millionth time.

"Wow. _Engaged_?"

"Yes."

"As in you'll get _married_ soon?"

"Yes, Yolei."

"To _TK Takaishi_?"

"Yep."

"You're _engaged_ to _TK Takaishi_?"

"Yes, Yolei, I'm engaged to TK Takaishi."

"Wow, I'm so jealous," she said dreamily, hugging the silk throw. "I've always wanted to be engaged."

"At age seventeen?"

"No, I suppose in the early twenties or so." Yolei hugged the throw tighter. "You're so lucky, Kari. TK Takaishi."

"Yes, I suppose I am."

"Is he any good?"

"Pardon?" Kari queried, looking a bit embarrassed.

"A good person, I mean," Yolei rephrased.

Kari thought for a second. "Yes, I suppose he is. He's nice and all."

"Wow, attractive and kind and athletic and smart." Yolei looked at the throw dreamily. "So, so lucky."

"I suppose," Kari agreed.

Yolei suddenly scurried out of the couch and ran toward a glass cupboard that held pictures of the Takaishi/Ishida family, as well as Kari's own.

"Is that Matt Ishida?" Yolei demanded, pressing her finger on the shiny glass. She was pointing to a particular picture with Matt and his band practising.

"Yes."

"I'm going to rape him one day," Yolei announced.

Kari sweatdropped.

"Do you know him?" Yolei asked excitedly.

"Sort of. He's TK's brother, so—"

"He's TK's _what_!" Yolei now had her entire face pressed on the cupboard, now staring directly at TK's family picture: his dad, his mum, Matt, him, and Miko, Kari's cat.

"Brother," Kari repeated.

"What is this! The world's best-looking family or something?" Yolei demanded, spinning around to stare at Kari.

Kari let out a forceful laugh.

"Introduce me to Matt! We can be sisters-in-law!"

Kari sweatdropped again. She had invited Yolei to discuss her relationship as she had more experience with boys than she had.

"Do we drink milk?" Matt asked, picking up a carton.

"I drink milk."

"Does _Dad_ drink milk?" Matt rephrased.

"You live with him!"

"Only for the holiday."

"You lived with him for eighteen years!"

"So? You knew him for seventeen. Does the guy drink milk?"

TK thought about it for a minute then shrugged. He had no idea.

"Fantastic sons, we are." Matt threw the carton back, and TK immediately set it upright. He hated grocery shopping, but shopping with his brother was a lot more entertaining than with anybody else.

"Cool Whip!" TK grabbed a can of whipped cream and put it in the cart.

"What are we going to eat with whipped cream?"

"_Anything_ can be eaten with whipped cream, Matt."

"That's disgusting." Matt picked up a can of salsa. "Salsa sounds good."

"With whipped cream?"

"That sounds gross."

"Yeah, it does." TK picked up another can. "What about whipped cheese?"

Half an hour later, Matt and TK were home, bags of foods spread across the dining table.

"Lemon juice. Why the hell did we buy lemon juice?" Matt asked.

"I don't know. Lemon squash?" TK guessed, referring to what their grandmother called lemon cordial.

"Goddamn, you sound like a 100-year-old." Matt pushed a lock of hair away from his face. "But that sounds good anyway."

"This was a stupid idea."

"You say that now, but after I'm done cooking something, you'll be apologising for being a whiney baby."

Rika, who had planned to ditch Ryo as soon as she set foot at the party, found herself following him around. He was the only one there that she knew, so she didn't really have a choice. Ryo didn't seem to care or notice her, as he was having the time of his life, talking and drinking with random people.

"Damn, I love Australia," Ryo said, grinning as he approached Rika, a glass of something definitely alcoholic in his hand. The top button of his shirt had broken off from when Rika tried to choke him with his tie for calling her Red. Ryo had ditched the tie to avoid further outbursts from Rika. "You seem to be having loads of fun."

Rika frowned. "How could you tell?"

He chuckled. "Why don't you make some friends or something?"

"I don't know these people."

"You are so antisocial." Ryo started to roll his eyes, but stopped midway, his eyes expanding larger than she had ever seen them.

"Are you o—"

Ryo grabbed Rika by the arm, turned his body a full 180 degrees, and ducked his head. "Sh, pretend you're talking to me."

"I am talking to you," Rika pointed out, pulling his fingers off her arm. "Stop touching me, you—"

"Ryo?"

Rika turned her head to see a tall girl, probably near their age or older. Her long, warm blonde waves cascaded down her shoulders, each hair carefully in place. Her dark blue eyes were caked with more makeup than Rika had on her entire face, but they made her eyes so striking. She was, Rika had to admit, beautiful.

Ryo looked up, feigning shock. "Kylie!"

"Kylie" laughed and hugged Ryo tightly. "Oh, my gosh! It's been so long. You look so much hotter! Oh, my gosh! Is this your girlfriend? She is so gorgeous."

Rika made a face of disapproval. "Actually—"

"Yeah, she's pretty, isn't she?" Ryo finished for Rika, taking her lovingly by the shoulder. "Kylie, this is my girlfriend, Rika. Rika, this is an old friend, Kylie."

Rika glared at him, who looked at her pleadingly. Throwing his arm off her, she scowled. "You must be kidd—"

"Pleased to meet you, Rika," Kylie outstretched an arm, which Rika reluctantly shook. "How long have you been dating Ryo?"

"Two years," Ryo answered, still staring at Rika desperately.

She was unaffected by sympathy. "Actually, we aren't—"

"Two whole years?" Kylie exclaimed. "I didn't know you had that in you, Mr. Akiyama."

Ryo gave a nervous laugh as he sipped his drink. "Yeah… Are you here alone?"

"Oh, no, my boyfriend is with me."

"Oh, I see." Ryo sipped his drink nervously once again.

"I am not his—"

"You look thirsty, baby." Ryo stuffed his glass in Rika's mouth. "Drink that."

"God, something to drink sounds good right now," Kylie announced. "I think I'll go get some. Be back soon, guys!"

When Kylie bounced away, her electric-blue dress flowing behind her, Rika seized the glass from between her lips and glared at Ryo. Before she could talk, Ryo began.

"Rika, do me a favour and pretend you're my girlfriend," he begged, holding his hands up in the praying position. "I'll do anything!"

"Um, ew, no." Rika glared angrily, brushing her shoulder off. "I don't owe you any favours."

"Rika, please!" Ryo rubbed his palms together. "I'll die if Kylie thinks I grew up to be some loser. I will honestly die."

"Not having a girlfriend doesn't mean you're a loser—"

"Believe me, to her, it does," Ryo muttered darkly.

"And I care about this why?"

"I'll give your bed back to you," Ryo tried, frantically watching Kylie prance to her boyfriend, then prance off to get drinks.

"Oh, a couple nights in a soft bed are hardly worth pretending to be going out with you."

"I'll…" Ryo looked around, looking for any sort of idea. "I'll be your slave for the rest of the time here."

"My slave?" Rika repeated, finding it a bit humorous that he was being so childish.

"Yes."

"All right then," Rika grinned. "Along with that, I get first dibs on shower, I get to choose when lights go out, you can't wake me up randomly for your own good anymore, I get the telly whenever I feel like it, and whatever else I think of, you have to follow."

Ryo scowled. "Fine. Other people just follow along to preserve friendship."

"I would, except we aren't friends." Rika smiled gleefully.

"I remember Ryo back when he lived in Kyushu," Kylie said, giggling. "He was a bit of a mess, really. A big improvement, Ryo."

"A mess?" Rika repeated, a smile forming across her mouth. "How exactly?"

"I don't think that's necessary, Rika," Ryo said, nervously giving her a glare.

"Why not, Ryo?" Rika asked innocently. "After two years of dating, I think I should know a little about when you were younger, don't you think?

"Ah, don't be a baby, Ryo. It's all in the past, so what difference does it make?" Kylie laughed and sat down in a chair. "C'mon, sit down! I have tons of stories on Ryo Akiyama. Did you dye your hair, by the way? I could have sworn it was at least five shades darker."

Mortified, Ryo found himself being forced into a chair.

"He used to wear a brace, which worked, I suppose, seeing his teeth are so perfect now." Kylie laughed. "Ryo, smile!"

"A brace, huh?" Rika smiled and looked at Ryo. "I bet you looked good with one of those."

Ryo looked away, grumbling to himself.

"One time I got him to get hot pink for the colour, and it was so awful! His mouth was a like one of those neon glow signs for a month!"

Rika grinned again, looking at Ryo with pure amusement. He glanced her way before turning to stare at the hors d'oeuvres again.

"He had these thick, nerd glasses as well. I'm guessing you wear contacts now, Ryo?" Kylie looked at Ryo for an answer, who pretended not to look at her. "Yes, well, they were huge and black. Have you ever seen Family Matters? Steve Urkel?" Rika nodded. "They were almost exactly like those, but even uglier. And you know how Urkel's really thin? Ryo was a goddamn mammoth in size! He was huge! I swear he weighed as much as three grown men!"

Rika laughed at the thought. Ryo found himself subconsciously improving his posture.

"Oh, and he had this hideous mullet. It was so awful, but we all said he looked good. Then somebody told him he looked like the mum from The Brady Brunch, so he cried in the boys' toilet at our primary school for hours. He was in counselling for weeks, and his mum bought him this really expensive haircut. Everybody called him gay afterwards; they assumed only homosexuals spend so much on their hair."

"I think you'd look really nice with a mullet, Ryo," Rika said, mussing his spiky hair with her hand.

"Believe me, it looked _awful_." Kylie laughed jovially when Ryo shot her a dirty look. "C'mon, don't look so embarrassed! We all have embarrassing pasts."

"I don't think mine can compare." Rika smiled at Ryo, who angrily took hors d'oeuvres and put it in his mouth.

"It wasn't as bad as she says," he muttered.

"It sounds pretty damn bad."

"It was!" Kylie chimed in. "He really was a bit of a disaster. So much improvement now! He even scored a girl as pretty as you. So, Rumiko Makino's daughter, huh? You're so lucky; you look so much like her!"

"Is this TK's jacket?" Yolei asked, wrapping the jacket around her shoulders. "Is this his bed?"

She proceeded to jump on his bed and bury her face in his pillow.

"He smells nice," she declared.

"Yolei, I don't think we should be—"

"He's your fiancé. He'll understand, right?"

Kari flushed. "Yolei, I really don't think—"

"Oh, what is this?" She picked up a pair of boxers off the floor and giggled. "He even has cute pants!"

"I can't believe she still thinks so little of me!" Ryo angrily hit a beautiful arrangement of flowers with his fist. "Me not worth you! Does that make sense to you?"

"Yes."

Ryo gave her an evil look. "I'm serious."

"So am I."

"Really? Let's see, how am I not worth you?"

"Well, from your friend's point of view, she remembers you as a fat boy with glasses, a brace, and a mullet. She saw me for the first time today as a famous model's daughter."

"Do I look fat to you?"

"No, you look like a beanpole."

He ignored her. "Do you see glasses on me? No. Brace? No. Mullet? No."

"Don't get so uptight about it. I'm sure she thought you looked very attractive."

"Are you mocking me?"

"What?"

"Are you mocking me?" he repeated, obviously annoyed.

"I just found out you were one of the ugliest little kids alive. Of course I'll find every chance to mock you. So, you have contacts, eh?"

Rika shot her face centimetres from his face, staring into his eyes. He stumbled back, clumsily knocking over a chair.

"What the hell!" he snapped, trying to stand back up while praying nobody saw him.

"I was checking if you had contact lenses on." Rika smirked. "Do you really have highlights?"

"No!" Ryo snapped, running his fingers through his sienna-coloured hair. "I've had this hair colour since I moved to Tokyo. Do you really think I was dying it this entire time?"

"Paris Hilton and Jessica Simpson do it."

Ryo narrowed his eyes. "I'm not Paris Hilton or Jessica Simpson, am I? This is my natural hair colour."

"If you say so," Rika mocked as if he were a small child telling her that Santa Claus had to be real.

"Wait, so you guys are _actually_ dating?" Matt asked, staring at TK. "Thanks for telling me."

TK shrugged.

Tai eyed TK with slight suspicion. He had come over just a bit ago to help Matt and TK on their cooking experiment. "You're dating… my sister… And you're… _Matt's_ brother."

"You say it as if being my brother is a bad thing."

Out of nowhere, a tall girl with pixie-short brown and blonde hair came out from the hallway.

"Hi Keira!" Matt said happily. "I was looking around for you."

"What happened to Vanessa?" Tai asked.

"Oh, she moved back to Europe yesterday."

"So when did you meet Keira?" Tai asked.

"Yesterday."

"So, _like I was saying_," Tai eyed TK once more. "You're dating… my sister… And you're… _**Matt's**_brother."

"I'm Matt's nobler half!" TK defended.

"Nobler half!" Matt cried, laughing. "Hear that, Keira? The boy thinks he's my _nobler half_!"

She laughed, not really getting it. TK flushed.

"Oh, my God! The self-centred dick!" Yolei gasped as Kari finally told her problem. "The goddamn douche bag! He can't do that to you!"

"The thing is, I don't know if he's running away or if he just has errands—"

"Who bloody runs away from his _wife_ the day after—"

"But I'm not his—"

"It's an outrage! You should kill him in his sleep or something. I don't care how hot he is or how perfect his brother may be! One thing a guy never should do is—"

"But Yolei—"

"I say dump the bastard and go for his brother! That'll show him! That'll show him not to mess with Kari Kami—"

"I would never do anything of the sort—"

"Matt's a heck lot sexier than TK any—"

"Yolei!" Kari shrieked, raising her voice sternly. "You're talking nonsense!"

"I most certainly am not!" Yolei gasped, exasperated. "He left you, Kari. Only an insecure little prat would do that. Seriously, I'm not kidding. Just dump the boy and go for his brother. Musicians are far more romantic than athletes anyway. Long hair owns short hair. Matt's sure to be a heck lot more famous than TK. Honestly, bas-ket-ball? Please, trying to be a professional basketball player is career suicide. Might as well try to be the next JK Rowling. Now, Matt, he has real ambitions. Rocker. You can't go wrong with a rocker, I always say…"

Kari sighed, giving up. _I knew ringing her up would be a bad idea._

Matt strummed one of his guitars while watching the news, something he always did. Personally TK found the guitar distracting when he was trying to concentrate on future terrorist attempts. His brother was airily playing Nirvana, missing several notes due to lack of concentration. Tai seemed to enjoy it, singing horribly off-key to the lyrics he did not know, filling in the unknown gaps with lyrics of his own.

Neither were any good, and TK was slowly reaching insanity, but didn't say anything. He knew better to insult his brother's playing, for he actually was very talented. As for Tai… he pretty much blew at singing. Tai was not very musically orientated.

"You should bunk the band and start a duet group with me, Matt." Tai reached over and plucked a guitar string, much to Matt's disapproval. "We can be called… Taito."

"What's 'to'?"

"Yama'to', duh."

"Because I go by Yamato," Matt muttered, switching from Nirvana to Coldplay. "Besides, that sounds like we're gay or something."

"First of all, no, it doesn't. Second of all, you do look slightly homosexual at times, Matt."

Matt gave his best mate a glare.

'Where are you?'" TK read from his mobile screen. Kari. Biting his lower lip, he pondered whether he should call her and tell her or type out a response. The first one sounded more logical as it would take less time, but it would also cause potential immaturity in Tai and Matt. He decided to go with typing. Flopping on a chair, he began to swiftly type away on his mobile.

"Sending a sms to my sister?" came a rather scary voice behind him.

He instantly shut the phone and turned around, hitting his face on the side of the chair. Naturally, he grabbed the origin of his newfound pain—his nose.

The pain was awful, but the thing that scared him was the gush of blood now staining his hand. His eyes dilated, staring at the blood in sheer horror.

"You have a little something… right there." Matt scratched his nose, trying to stifle his laughter.

"You aren't thinking of perverse thoughts about my little sister now, are you?" Tai asked, half joking.

"No!" TK cried, horrified. He grabbed some tissue paper and held it under his nose, looking very much embarrassed.

"Ryo and I had this little fling when we were younger," Kylie explained, giggling. "We were both young, and I suppose I felt a bit sorry for him. We made this stupid bet that he would never find another girlfriend besides myself. Guess I was wrong, huh, Ryo?"

"Guess so," Ryo responded. As if evidence was needed, he put an arm over her Rika's shoulder and gave her the fakest smile she had ever seen. It was enough to nearly make her throw up.

Rika wanted to scowl, but looked at him instead, kindly smiling. "My, you're touchy today. Are you trying to impress your friend?"

"No, it's only because I love you so much," Ryo said, smiling the exact way Rika was but giving her shoulder a harsh squeeze. "Is that so wrong?"

"Of course not! You know I love you too, right?" Rika slammed her palm on Ryo's shoulder blade.

"Oh, my God. You two are so cute together," Kylie gushed.

"Yep… That's us… _cute_…" Ryo muttered, loosening Rika's shoulder due to the pain on his own. "…Together…"

"You two seem so unloving though." Kylie winked at Rika, causing Ryo to gain suspicion.

"What do you mean?"

"For going out for two years, you seem awfully uncomfortable with each other."

"Awfully uncomfortable," Rika repeated to Ryo. She looked at Kylie and added with slight sarcasm she knew Kylie would pick up, "No, we're so comfortable with each other. We're practically siblings. Who just so happen to be dating."

Kylie giggled. "So have you guys done anything yet? I'm guessing with two years you've surely done more than just kiss."

Rika raised an eyebrow at Ryo, showing she would not follow any sort of story he would make on this one.

"What happens intimately between us is really our own business, isn't it?" Rika asked, knowing that she was unintentionally sounding rude.

Kylie shook her head. "Sorry, I apologise. It's just awkward to see Ryo like this. You know… grown up."

"Uh-huh." Rika raised an eyebrow once again.

"Yeah, I'm right here."

Kylie smiled at him. "Yes, I know."

"And I don't really appreciate you telling embarrassing stories of my childhood to my girlfriend, Kylie."

Kylie fiercely slapped his shoulder. "Oh, don't act like such a child, Ryo. It's all just a bit of fun really! It's like giving out your roster—not that I'm promoting sex to you kids."

Ryo looked away with an agitated look while Rika awkwardly glanced at him.

"What?" he snapped at Rika, forgetting for a split second that they were 'dating.'

"I was just wondering how the hell I ended up with such an insecure bastard, that's all."

Ryo and Kylie stared.

Kari, who had locked herself in the bathroom, whispered in her mobile so Yolei wouldn't here.

"Hi TK," she said softly.

"Hi Kari," he replied, his voice as soft as hers.

"How are you?" she asked.

"Your brother scares me."

She giggled quietly, sitting in the bathtub with her knees close to her chest. "Were you with Tai?"

"Yeah, Matt wanted some company. Sorry to leave you without warning. I didn't want to wake you up."

Kari smiled. "Oh, it's fine. Why are you whispering?"

"Because you're whispering. Why are you whispering?"

"Because I'm in the bathroom."

"Oh." His voice was back to normal.

"My friend's over and she hates you."

"Oh," he replied awkwardly. "Do I know her?"

"Probably not. She's a year higher than us." Kari played with the cat charm attached to her phone. "Are you having fun?"

"No, not really. Tai scared me when I read your message and I hit my nose, so I started to nosebleed. The two think I'm perverted now."

Kari giggled. "Sorry about Tai. He's overprotective at times."

She heard TK grumble.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Where are you now?"

"Driving home. I'll be there soon."

"Oh, good. Better go kick my friend out of the flat then."

TK laughed. "She can stay if she wants."

"No, believe me, she's been cursing you out all day."

"Oh…" TK replied, awkward still.

Kari giggled. "Well, see you when I see you."

"Okay."

"TK, wait," she said quickly.

And hesitated.

"What?"

Silence.

"Hurry up."

TK gave a chuckle. "I will. See you soon."

Kari smiled secretly to herself. "Bye."

Silence.

"Are you hanging up?" TK asked.

"After you."

He chuckled and turned his phone off. She smiled again and turned her own phone off. She was right. He wouldn't have regrets.

"I JUST REALISED MATT'S EYES ARE BLUER THAN TK'S!"

She scrambled out of the bathtub, ready to break the news to Yolei that she should leave.

"Well, that was fun," Ryo declared as he stepped out of the bathroom and into the suite. "Wasn't today fun, Rika?"

"Yeah," Rika said sarcastically from her bed. "I kept my part, so you better keep yours."

"What was the deal again?" Ryo asked, honestly forgotten it.

"I get to make the decisions when it comes to telly, the bed, the time to go to bed, where we go if we must go somewhere, when we go if we must go somewhere, and if I buy anything, you're paying. Oh, and you're my slave"

"You definitely added to the list," Ryo muttered, opening his wardrobe doors and kicking it open. "Not that it sounds any different from the way things were before."

"Yes, but now I won't have to waste time forcing you, will I?" Rika stretched her legs on the king-sized bed, watching Ryo give her a dirty look before walking into his wardrobe. "Can't be bothered with such things anymore."

"Uh-huh." Ryo grabbed a random t-shirt to wear to sleep and kicked the door closed, wondering what sort of torture he had to undergo the remaining days of his winter holiday.

I can't believe I finally finished! Was a bit useless to make this chapter, but the chapter was originally a page long or so. I'll try to update quicker, but I'm extremely busy these days. My lack of a computer also contributes to this.


	11. Where's Rika?

I LOVE YOU GUYS! Please don't kill me. :( Good news is, however, that I've completed both Chapter 11 _and_ Chapter 12! So I'll update with Chapter 12 tomorrow hopefully, after I run through it once again for error. If it isn't up by then, it's only because I couldn't get to a computer. I'm currently paying £1.50 an hour to get on this one.

I realised how stupid this story really was, so I basically wrote a new chapter instead of rewriting it. If something seems out of place, blame this website or Word. One of the two are acting up.

**Hating You 11: Where's Rika?**

"TK Takaishi, I demand to know what you're doing."

It was New Year's Eve and TK had caught a small cold. It was nowhere near serious, and the only part of TK that seemed affected was his voice and face colour, but Kari remained worried.

Especially since he felt he "needed" to go running.

"Imbroving my immyoo sysdem," TK answered from the floor, putting on his trainers.

He refused to be locked up in a small flat all day. He hadn't done much exercise over the holiday, and at this rate, he would be out of shape in no time. After all, nothing was more embarrassing than being captain of a basketball team while completely out of shape.

"It's cold outside! And wet! And you have a cold!" Kari grabbed his left trainer. "You aren't improving it; you're killing it! You can't go running."

"Bud I _wand_ do go runnin'," he protested.

"You can run when you feel better, TK. Perhaps tomorrow."

He frowned. "I feel bedder! I'b been sleebin' all day!"

"You can't even talk properly, for Christ's sake!" Kari gently squatted next to him. "Come on, you can read a novel or something. I have some good ones."

TK groaned. He didn't want to stay home reading another boring novel or eating more dodgy, watery soup. He wanted to run.

Kari hugged his torso, trying futilely to calm her boyfriend's impatience. "You can run tomorrow, okay? If you feel better then, I'll let you run."

TK looked at her blankly, wondering if he should listen to her advice or go ahead and leave.

Deciding he was in no position to deny her opinions (that were surely more intelligent than his own), he untied his right trainer.

"Aw, good boy," Kari cooed, half-teasing him as she patted his chest several times. "Come on, I'll make you some more soup."

"I'm so bored," he whinged, leaning his back on the wall. "Id's New Year's, and I'm doin' nuddin'. Jus'—"

Suddenly, his voice ceased with his mouth still open. His eyes widened and almost began to water—

—as the door swung open and smacked against his leg mercilessly.

"Hell-o-o-o-o-o Takaishi family!" Tai Kamiya's head appeared, grinning happily at the two. "TK, what's wrong with you? Why are you staring at me so fondly? Only Matt can look at me like that."

"I brought drinks!" Matt announced before TK could reply.

Not that TK could, considering the severe trauma in his leg and all. It had temporarily killed him.

Matt held up a plastic bag, beaming with joy.

Tai's smile faded as he looked down at Kari. "You don't get any, Kari. I bought you Coke. A litre of it."

"My leg!" TK bellowed as soon as he realised what had happened.

"Oh, sorry kid. My bad." Matt nonchalantly tapped his brother's head, dropping the bag of liqueur bottles on TK's leg. "I thought you two would be bored, so we brought over a little party."

"As if six people would be considered a party," Tai muttered. "Seven at night."

Matt grinned. "I bought seven handles. One for everybody, except Tai and me. We get two. Sound good to you, TK? Or do you want to split the Jägermeister with me? Aren't I a good brother? Thinking of you and all?"

"You're crushing my leg," TK answered dryly.

"What?"

Rika was not happy.

She had just escaped dinner with her mum and friends.

She was in a dress.

The dress was an odd sort of purplish pink.

Ryo had just interrupted her by putting his _hand_ on top of hers.

She was _not_ happy.

To be more specific, Ryo was more interested in the object her hand was holding than her hand.

"Could I have one?" he asked, already sticking a cigarette in his mouth and opening the lighter.

Disgusted, she seized her box and lighter from his hands, stuffed the lighter into the box, threw it aside, and looked away.

After sleeping on it, she realised she could not control him. Even if he gave her his word, even if she gave him an order, he wouldn't do it.

If he did, it would be mediocre at the most.

Therefore, what was the point of telling him to be her slave? It was stupid. He would just fuck things up.

So she would ignore him.

That wasn't hard.

They only had a week left.

Easy.

"Any New Year's resolutions?" he asked, exhaling.

"No."

"What? Are you too perfect?" he teased.

She gave in.

"I don't believe in New Year's resolutions. If I want to change, I'll do it in my own time."

He exaggerated an inhale. "This is awful."

"Then throw it away."

"That's wasteful, Rika." He inhaled. "Want to know my resolution?"

She didn't answer him.

"Come on, ask me what my resolution is."

She remained indifferent.

"Fine, I'll tell you anyway. It's only for the next week, but I'm resolving to be nicer to you."

She laughed bitterly. "Let's see how long that lasts."

"A week, I told you," he replied, inhaling more smoke. "I left you some hot water in the shower."

"How thoughtful," she replied monotonously. "You seem to have forgotten that I get the shower first."

"Oops." He ran his fingers through his damp hair. "It's cold out here."

This was precisely why she chose not to torture Ryo. He wouldn't get tortured. He'd break it and nonchalantly say it isn't a big deal.

"Then go inside."

He hid his smile behind his cigarette. "But _you're_ out _here_."

"I'm going to take a shower," she said, irritated, throwing her cigarette out of the balcony.

"This is Lily," Matt introduced as he set bottles of liqueur on the table. "Hope you don't mind I invited her."

Lily was pretty with soft brownish-red hair and azure eyes. She was rather short and clung to Matt's torso obsessively.

"Lily, this is TK, my brother, and Kari, his… girlfriend."

"Aw, you look just like your brother," Lily cooed at TK.

"Dank you," he replied politely.

If there was one compliment he was sick of, it had to be that.

It wasn't a bad thing, he decided. It was just annoying.

They were brothers. Of course they would look alike in some way.

Why was it that people thought it was their duty to confirm what he already knew?

_Be appreciative. I'm the most attractive guy in Japan_, Matt scolded the first time TK confronted him about it. _At least they aren't saying you look like a jackass._

Matt withheld laughter. "Yurr welgub."

"I hab a code," TK defended.

"Aw, he's cute, Matt," Lily murmured to her boyfriend, stroking his shirt sleeve.

Another compliment he would rather have less of.

It wasn't that cute was a _bad_ thing.

Actually, TK took it as a compliment.

It just made him feel as if he was eight-years-old, that's all.

"Yeah, he's a cutie," Matt half-agreed, leaning towards her so she could successfully nibble his neck.

TK knew Matt had a new girl on his arm every other day.

He knew Matt's favourite thing besides music was the female population.

He knew Matt appreciated girls to a certain extent.

He knew Matt knew he was attractive.

He knew Matt loved using that to his advantage.

Especially when it came to getting girls.

Yet it still was always awkward to see Matt and a girl getting somewhat intimate with each other. Matt never seemed to mind that his younger, underage brother watched him while he did things strictly meant for those eighteen-and-over. TK, on the other hand, would never do anything with a girl in Matt's presence. Perhaps because he always felt the need to be the classier, less wild one.

He turned his head to his fiancée, who was being thoroughly lectured about the dangers of drinking.

"Even if we all get drunk and vomit and pass out and you're all alone, don't you dare drink any of this stuff, okay Kari?"

"I know, Tai."

"Because you'll die."

"Tai, I know!"

"You'll _die_, Kari!"

"_Tai_!"

Sora gave her boyfriend a tight hug. "I think she gets it."

Tai, flustered, looked at her. "I'm just making sure. I don't know what the hell Matt was thinking, bringing alcohol here. They're _underage_. You might as well just hire a damn—" He sighed. "I'm just making sure."

"You made sure," she assured, giving him a light kiss on the cheek. "Just get on with it. She's responsible. And I'm not drinking, so I'll make sure she's fine, okay?"

Still nervous, he arbitrarily ran his fingers through her hair. "Okay, okay. But if you let Kari drink, I'll break up with you, and then I'll kill you."

Although Matt could get annoying, TK was glad Matt wasn't like Tai. Matt couldn't care less what TK did despite his age and maturity level, as long as TK didn't rat Matt out.

Their brotherly bonding was rather eccentric, he had to admit, but it was more fun than what other families had to deal with. It would be terrible to have a brother who freaked out at the sight of alcohol.

In fact, Matt was the first one who introduced alcohol to him. He was fourteen. Matt was, that is.

TK looked curiously at Matt. He had to admit Matt was a pretty crappy brother if he really thought about it.

Cool, but crap.

"Drink!" Matt ordered, thrusting a small shot glass at TK. "It'll make you feel better. Alcohol cures everything, even colds."

TK felt like vomiting, and alcohol would surely make that happen, but he took it anyway.

After all, it was New Year's Eve.

"Smoking again?"

"Why do you think I'm always smoking?"

"Because you always are."

Rika gave him a nonchalant look before taking a cigarette out. Ryo took a step into the balcony, pulling on a light jacket despite the warm, summer wind. She watched him carefully, wondering why he was talking to her. He had said he would be nicer, yes, but did that have to involve _talking_ to each other?

He ignored her looks, walking up beside her and leaning against the banister. "What are you doing? Staring at the beautiful view? I know you're a bit of a nature freak, but I didn't think you'd stare into the moonlight for fun."

His voice was mocking, and Rika wanted to punch the cocky smile off his face.

But she was tired.

"I'm going to bed," she said firmly.

"Wait a minute." He took a hold of her wrist. "It's New Year's. You aren't even going to stay awake until midnight?"

Rika stared at her hand. "You're touching me."

"Come on, don't be such a spoils sport. I can understand not wanting to make resolutions, but not staying up? That's inhuman!"

She looked up at his face. "_You_ are touching _me_."

"Just wait a couple minutes, will you?" he asked, squeezing her wrist tighter. He brought his other hand to his face, examining his watch. "57 seconds, actually. 57 seconds with me. That isn't too bad."

"Let go of my fucking hand, Ryo."

"49 seconds."

"God, you aren't one of those people who start counting down, are you?"

"No, of course not."

"Good." She yanked her wrist, hurting herself more than Ryo, who merely tugged right back. "Let go!"

"38," he announced, still looking at his watch. He seemed completely oblivious to the fact that Rika was about to mutilate his hand.

"You are one of those people who count down!" Rika accused.

"34."

"Let me go, damnit! I won't go inside!"

He didn't appear to hear her. "29."

"Ryo!"

Giving up, she allowed her arm to go limp and used her free hand to fumble for a cigarette.

She successfully got one in her mouth—Ryo watching—and she took out the lighter and put it in front of Ryo's face.

"The least you could do is light me," she muttered, careful not to let her cigarette drop out of her mouth.

"And you wonder why I always ask if you're smoking," he taunted, not taking the lighter.

"Light me."

"Nah, smokers make terrible kissers. I'm helping you out." He muttered something under his breath as well, but she couldn't hear it.

Not that she cared. She was too annoyed to listen to him. She took her cigarette out of her mouth, positively glaring at Ryo. "And as I have said multiple times, you aren't kissing me anytime soon, so I don't see why me being a bad kisser affects you in any way."

He smiled. "8 seconds. 7… 6…"

Catching on as Ryo's grip tightened, Rika took her hand with the cigarette and lighter and tried to loosen his grip on her. "If you even _try_ to kiss me, Ryo Akiyama, I swear I will hurt you so badly you'll—"

"But it's New Years," he said matter-of-factly, grabbing her waist with his free hand and bringing her up to him.

"Stop making out with my boyfriend!" Kari shrieked as Lily grabbed TK. TK, completely drunk, ran his hands hungrily through her hair, fully unaware that he was currently snogging his brother's girlfriend.

Matt, though even more drunk, somehow did. He seized TK by the shirt and threw him off. Too drunk to care that his little brother had just made a pass at his girlfriend, Matt grabbed Lily and continued where TK had left off. TK stumbled, laughed, and hit his shoulder against a wall.

Tai was passed out on the floor.

"Dear God! You people!" Sora exclaimed, frowning. "Honestly, they don't know when to stop."

"Um, should we stop them?" Kari asked as Lily frantically began to rip off Matt's shirt. "Oh, my God. Sora! Sora!"

Her virgin eyes couldn't stand it, and yet she stared.

"Bloody hell, stop it!" Sora yelled, grabbing Matt as Kari took Lily.

"She slapped me!" Kari squealed as Lily smacked her eye and grabbed Matt's hair.

"Matt!" Sora yelled. "_Matt!_"

"Thirty minutes," Matt muttered.

"Sora!" Kari shrieked.

"Matt!" Sora said firmly.

Matt pushed Sora out of the way and scrambled towards Lily.

Kari let go, accordingly.

"Go to a room!" Kari screamed as Lily began to unzip Matt's pants. "_Go to a room_!"

Grabbing onto Matt's torso, Sora pulled them to a room.

"No! Not _my_ room! Put them in TK's room!" Kari screeched.

"Wha?" TK slurred at the mention of his name. "Ay-m 'ere!"

"Shut up," Kari ordered, brushing him aside.

Groaning, Sora pulled them into TK's room, shoved them in, and closed the door.

"_God_," Sora said, frowning at the room. "I can't believe I dated that guy."

Kari laughed nervously. She had always wondered if she and Matt had… done stuff, but was far too embarrassed to ask.

Awkward silence followed.

TK's shoulder ran into another counter. "Ow."

He began laughing.

"TK," Kari said gently, taking his arm. "God, you're so drunk…"

He began to kiss her neck.

"TK, stop.. .TK!" Kari couldn't help but flush. Sora was staring at her. And even if her brother was passed out on the floor, she still felt his third eye was staring at them, glowering. She pushed TK off.

He laughed and continued to pursue. "Come ahn, Kahlee…"

"TK, stop!" Kari said frantically, pushing him off again. Sora, concerned, walked towards them as well.

"Stahp playeeeng, Hina," he murmured.

Sora and Kari froze. TK laughed and continued to kiss Kari's neck.

"Did he just call me Hina?"

"No," Sora said quickly. She had dated Matt around the same time TK dated Hina, and therefore knew about her. She also knew Kari was not a fan of hers.

"He did."

"No, I think he said…"

"He said Hina. As in _Hina_ Itou."

"He's drunk…" Sora reasoned. "He's probably just…"

TK cupped Kari's frozen face in his hands. "Wha's long? Do I look funny to you?"

"Rika, let me in! It was supposed to be funny. _Funny_! Don't you have a sense of humour?"

Ryo lightly hit the glass doors of the balcony, trying to get the attention of Rika inside, piercing him with her icy glare.

"I personally don't find anything funny about it."

"Well, then your sense of humour sucks."

"Or maybe what you consider to be humorous isn't."

Ryo gave the balcony window a hard knock. "Let me in!"

"You've got a key, haven't you?"

"No, I haven't got a key. Let me in."

"It's your own fault for not carrying your key around, isn't it?" Rika smirked, looking quite pleased with herself.

Ryo scowled again. She probably thought she was so clever, so brilliant. "Come on, it's cold. Let me in."

"I do care deeply about your physical well-being after all," Rika said, giving him a _come-on_ look. "Jump off the balcony if you're that desperate to get inside. I'm sure the nice people in the front desk will more than enjoy picking up pieces of your dismantled body."

Yes, he hated her.

He had actually planned to be nicer to her, he had actually _considered_ keeping to a resolution.

Did this girl not understand the meaning of this?

"Rika, stop walking away! Let me in!"

Rika turned her shoulder to face him. She then gave him the tightest, oh-I'm-so-much-better-than-you look, and turned around once again.

"Rika!" Knowing Rika, she actually would leave him in the cold until he froze to death. "It was a_joke_!"

"Funny joke," Rika said loudly, picking up a jacket from the bed. She examined it for a second and realised it was his. "I'm taking this."

He could care less about his jacket.

He was, after all, trapped on a balcony on the eighteenth floor of a hotel.

"Rika, this isn't funny."

"Odd," she said, throwing the jacket over her shoulders. "I find it hilarious."

Kari was a mess.

After Sora smacked TK's back, he vomited, coughed, vomited again, and passed out.

In the duration that Sora helped TK, Kari had found a half-drunken glass of caramel vodka.

Technically, it wasn't her fault that she drank it.

It was in a cup, for Christ's sakes. Who poured vodka into a bloody _cup_!

But the point was that she drank it.

After she nearly died of the foul taste, she realised something: TK had called her Hina. As in his ex-girlfriend. As in not her.

She began bawling, and now was unable to stop.

Sora was trying to calm her in her room, praying Tai wouldn't wake up and see his baby sister drunk.

"He still likes her." Humiliated, she buried her head in her hands, sobbing. "How could _anybody_ like her? Especially TK! _TK_! He's mine, and he's too good for her."

"Kari, he's drunk. People—"

"Are more honest when they're drunk," Kari finished.

There was silence, as Sora didn't know how to respond.

"I can't believe I thought I could change him."

"Kari, you're taking this too seriously. Tai forgets my name all the time, and—"

"Tai is an idiot. He's allowed to." Kari didn't seem affected that she had just insulted her favourite person in the world. "TK… He's smart. He doesn't just forget that he isn't—"

"Kari, the boy was drunk out of his mind. On top of that, he was sick. He's just—"

"I can't believe I thought I could change him," Kari repeated, hot streams of tears falling.

"What do you mean, 'change him'?" Sora asked a little loudly. "I don't know what TK _you're_ talking about, Kari, but the one _I_ know never was… was… whatever you're accusing him of being."

Kari laughed bitterly. "_You_ don't go to school with him."

"People act differently around people, especially in school. TK's still a very sweet person—"

"He referred to me as his ex-girlfriend." Kari sobbed. "That's why he was being so aggressive. TK's never aggressive with me. He and Hina were probably always—oh, God!"

Sora, realising whatever she said would not change Kari's mind, instead handed her a glass of water. One thing was for certain: TK was a dead man tomorrow.

"Ryo Akiyama, where is Rika?"

Ryo stared with disbelief.

He was dreaming.

His mother had just found him locked in a balcony. She opened the door, yelled at him for being stupid, and was now accusing _him_ of making Rika go away.

"I said I don't know, _Mother_," he said angrily. "As I have said _multiple_ times, she locked me in here and left."

"Well, go find her! It's one o'clock in the morning!" His mother smacked his head with quite a bit of force. "I cannot believe you're that irresponsible! If Rika's gone, you obviously should tell one of us! Imagine Rumiko's face when we tell her that her daughter has gone _missing_!"

"Exactly. It's one. I'm tired." Ryo feigned a yawn as he flopped on the bed. "Besides, she isn't missing. She's just gone."

She smacked his head again. "Don't act smarmy with me, Ryo."

"Ow!" Ryo grabbed his head. "I'm your son, damnit! I demand more affection!"

She took him by the ear and dragged him up. "Find Rika. _Right_. _Now_!"

"Hey, it's Rika. Leave a message. Beep!"

_Fucking Rika_, Ryo thought angrily, walking around aimlessly through the streets. _That stupid, ugly, foul_—

He dialled Rika's number again. It rang several times before the same message came up.

_She knows I'm calling_, he thought. _She knows, but she isn't picking up just to spite me. I swear, Rika, when I find you. I'll kill you. I don't care if you're a girl; I'll beat you up until_—

"Hey, it's Rika. Leave a message. Beep!"

To be completely honest, this was not going the way she had hoped.

Was she lost?

No.

She knew exactly how to get back.

But she didn't want to.

She had hoped Ryo to have cared even the littlest bit by chasing after her.

If not for her, for his own safety. Her mother would kill him. And from what she could tell so far, his parents seemed to favour her over their own son.

_Fucking Ryo_, she thought angrily, walking as slowly as she possibly could without attracting attention._What a fucking gentleman. It's a wonder why_he_isn't known for his charming personality._

"TK!"

Sora quietly shook his body. Kari had fallen asleep on the couch, and Sora was hoping to relieve TK some of the shock he would have to face tomorrow.

Sadly, he wasn't waking up.

"TK!"

"I'm sleeping," he mumbled, rolling over on Kari's bed. He was clearly half-awake, so her job was halfway done.

"Wake up!"

"I'm _sleeping_."

"Shut up, and wake up!"

TK opened his eyes slowly, looking quite grumpy. "Sora?"

He realised his pink surroundings—_not_ his own room.

And the fact that he didn't have a shirt on.

And Sora was hovering over him…

His eyes widened, and he pulled the blanket towards him.

"Sora! I… I…"

"What?"

TK coughed nervously.

Realising what TK was thinking, she rolled her eyes. "TK, you're seventeen. I'm twenty. I dated your brother. I've seen you buck-naked since you were three. The last thing I'll do is take advantage of your drunken state. This is Kari's room, because your brother is having sex in yours. You vomited all over your shirt, so I took it off. No, I didn't feel you up."

Embarrassed, he slowly let his blanket down. "I know… I was just…"

"TK," she said seriously. "Now that you're awake, I have to tell you something."

Still embarrassed, he shrugged shyly.

She groaned. "TK!"

"I'm listening!"

"You called Kari Hina."

He looked at her.

She looked at him.

"No, I didn't," he said finally.

"Yes, you did. You were drunk and called her Hina."

"Don't be stupid," he said, scanning the room for his girlfriend. "Sora, where's Kari?"

"She got drunk and fell asleep."

His eyes widened. "Kari _drinks_?" He sat upright. "Kari doesn't drink. No. You're crazy. _You're_ the drunken one. Kari doesn't believe in breaking laws. She doesn't believe in—"

"She got drunk, TK. That isn't the point. The point is that—"

"Look, _Sora_, Kari's _my_ fiancée. I've known her since we were born, damn it! She doesn't get drunk!" He looked genuinely offended, as if Sora had just insulted him in the worst way possible. "And I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't fabricate stories to get my attention."

"TK, get over it. Fine, she didn't get drunk. Whatever. The point is that you called her Hina, and she's—"

"Why would I call her Hina?"

"I don't know. But Kari thinks it's because you still like Hina—"

"Why would I still like Hina?"

"I don't know. But Kari's really hurt and—"

"Why would Kari think I still like Hina?"

Sora felt a pang of annoyance. "TK, you called her Hina while trying to make out with her. I think it's only reasonable that—"

"I tried to _make out_ with Kari?" TK asked, eyes widening. "But Kari thinks making out is sacrilegious!"

"TK, shut up."

"No, I couldn't have. I wouldn't have." TK threw the covers aside. "I'm not that stupid."

TK stared at Kari. He could smell the light scent of alcohol from her breath, and even in sleep, her eyebrows were furrowed with disturbance.

"Tai is going to kill me."

"He isn't going to kill you. Tai… he's misunderstood."

"Says you," TK scoffed. "You're his damn girlfriend. I'm…" He gulped. "Kari's fiancé and Matt's brother."

Sora shrugged.

"Once when I was eight, I was playing conkers with Kari. Her conker broke up, and Tai pushed me to the ground. And I cried. Conkers, Sora! The _object_ of the game is to break—"

"Did Kari cry?"

"No, she congratulated me."

"Did you try to let her win?"

"No, I was eight. I didn't care about being a gentle—"

"That's why he pushed you."

"He pushed me because I won a game!"

"TK, stop screaming. You're going to wake them both up."

TK immediately shut his mouth.

He looked at Kari.

Then at Sora.

"Did I really call her Hina?" he whispered loudly.

"Yes, you did." Sora gave him a hug that he did not return. "TK, it's fine. I'm sure if you explain to her that you were… er…"

She released her hug, realising there was nothing he could say that would change Kari's mind.

"TK, it'll be okay."

"Why am I such a jackass?" TK asked, staring at the wall. "I'm a jackass, aren't I, Sora?"

"No, of course not. TK, you're one of the nicest guys I have ever—"

"Nice guys don't get drunk and call their fiancée's by their ex-girlfriend's name."

"TK—"

"Maybe if I find Hina and kill her, Kari will realise I hate her."

"TK, you cannot kill her."

"Why not? I don't like her much."

"TK!"

"God," he said, still staring at the wall.

"You aren't going to cry, are you?"

He finally blinked and glared at Sora. "No, why would I cry? I don't cry."

"It's okay to cry."

"I never said it wasn't, but I don't cry."

She smiled. "You used to cry when you were little…"

"So did everybody else. I bet you did… And… and Tony Blair… And… and Hitler."

She laughed and hugged him. "TK, you are too cute."

He frowned.

Why would he cry over this?

Big boys didn't cry, and despite what his mum and brother thought, he was one.

"Rika! Hey, Rika!"

Rika smirked, pretending not to hear Ryo's voice.

"RIKA MAKINO!"

She turned her head. He was running after her, looking very much like a fool.

"I… you… I'll kill you."

He was panting, and he clutched her sleeve for support.

"Oh, Ryo, I didn't hear you."

"Yeah, I bet," he muttered. He straightened up. "I ran six blocks for you."

"Aw, you _do_ like me!" she said fakely, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Ryo, I'm touched."

He looked at her face. He could punch it. It was within distance. It would be easy. Like punching a stuffed animal. All he had to do was…

"Let's go," he said dryly, deciding it wouldn't be worth it. Come to think of it, Rika didn't seem weak. She could potentially win in a fight with him with the help of outside objects.

That would be far too embarrassing.

"No, I don't think so."

"Rika," he said warningly.

"Ryo," she said with amusement.

"Rika."

She smiled. "I want some fresh air."

"Enjoy fresh air on the way back then," he said through clenched teeth.

"No, I think I want to stroll some more."

"Rika…"

"I'm not asking you to follow me."

"Good, because that's the furthest thing from my mind."

"You're following me."

Ryo, walking slowly several steps behind Rika, glared at the back of her head. "Just because you're going the same direction as me doesn't mean I'm following you, Rika."

She stopped.

Not knowing what to do, he stopped.

"Well? You go first then," she said, still not turning to face him.

He stood there.

What was he to do?

Being the kind of girl she was, the second he couldn't see her, she would probably disappear.

Which meant he would have to search for her all over again.

Which meant he would have to tire his tired body even more.

"I'm following you," he admitted, swallowing his pride.

She turned around, her striking eyes piercing him even in the middle of the night. They almost were doubling over laughter at them. They teased him. They told him that he looked like her slave.

Shame followed.

If the people at school who admired him for his confidence could see him now. Belittling himself to please a girl. A girl he didn't even like.

She gave him a pleased smile, turned around, and started walking off again.

Not knowing what to say, he did only what he could: follow her.

"Dearest Kari, in my quest for better understanding and an impartial perspective of an amorphous ex-relationship that was with Hina, I am constantly subjected to trials and tribulations that hinder my growth as a better boyfriend that facilitate a deep impression upon you that I indeed am a jackass. But through this adversity rises the future, reminding myself that there is some functionality as well as potential to a disillusioned and often hazy line that skews the boundaries of past and present. Therefore, I ask of nothing but simple acceptance to my humble note of apology as I can do nothing but pledge loyalty and fidelity. Fondly, TK."

TK smiled.

Sora gawked.

He smiled.

"TK, you _cannot_ say that to Kari."

"Why not?" TK's face fell, the letter he had written dangling limply from his hand.

"It sounds too…" Sora searched for the correct words. "TK, just don't. I didn't even know you knew half those words."

He frowned. "I'm not stupid."

"I know that. I just didn't realise you… had such an extensive vocabulary."

He grinned. "It sounds impressive, doesn't it?"

"It sounds fake."

"Well, I have to think of a way to somehow apologise to her."

"Why not be less… robotic about it? You know, be…"

TK stared, waiting for her to finish her aposiopesis.

"Warmer," she said finally.

"Should I write a different letter?" he asked.

"No, don't rehearse anything. Just tell her you're sorry. Tell her you love her, and you were wrong."

TK's face fell. "How crap is this? I don't even remember doing this, and I have to apologise for it."

Sora watched him sympathetically as he ripped his letter into pieces.

I can't believe it; I'm done! I don't know how long Chapter 12 will take, but you can always contact me at my new email on my profile page.

Again, apologies for any weirdness. It looked fine on Microsoft Word.


	12. Sibling Love

Have fun trying to follow the dialogue between Matt, TK, and their parents. I purposely made it a bit confusing for a humorous effect, but I failed.

Sorry that I can't respond to reveiws on this one. In a bit of a hurry.

**Hating You 12: Sibling Love**

Matt was gone. Sora was gone. Tai was gone. Matt's girlfriend was gone.

TK was alone in the flat with Kari.

"Fuck," he muttered as he dropped an egg in a simmering frying pan, shell and all. He was too nervous to cook anything.

Not that he was that good in the first place.

He had hoped to impress Kari with a lavish breakfast.

So far, he had managed to burn bacon, burn toast, and adulterate an omelette with egg shells.

He was no chef, but he certainly wasn't this terrible on normal days.

"TK, are you awake?"

_Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck._

TK seized the frying pan and threw it into the sink.

"Uh, yeah! I'm in the kitchen!" he said frantically. "Don't come in though. I'm naked!"

_Fuck. Why would you be naked in the kitchen?_ he thought angrily. _Good one, TK. You're absolutely brilliant._

"TK, why are you naked in the kitchen?"

"I, uh, I just am."

He wasn't ready. He just wasn't.

"TK, are you all right?"

"Yeah! I'm just…" He grabbed a towel and began wiping the messy counter. "Just close your eyes. I'll run to my room and put something on."

"Okay, they're closed."

He peeked his head out of the kitchen. Kari's head was turned the other way.

"D… don't peek," he said, nervously wondering if she would spin around and see him fully clothed.

"TK, I'm not perverted."

"Ha-ha, of course not."

_What a stupid thing to say_, he thought as he made a mad dash to his room, closed the door, and bolted it.

"You have bags under your eyes."

"Thanks for noticing." Ryo dropped his head on the table with a loud thud that was enough to send shivers down Rika's spine. "I need sleep."

"Then sleep."

"How can I when you won't leave me alone?" he growled.

Rika sat beside him. "Ryo, do you want me to leave?"

"No, I want you to die."

She pretended to pout. "I'm so sad you think of me that way, you goddamn bastard."

Ryo lazily looked at her. "I'm too tired to fight with you."

"You deserve to be tired," Rika said seriously.

"Why?" He let out an airless chuckle. "Because I tried to kiss you? It's the only sort of affection you'll ever get from a guy, anyway."

She frowned, stood up, and kicked his leg.

"Ow!" He smiled still, enjoying his newfound amusement. "Rika, don't act like you didn't like it. Don't think I didn't notice that you didn't pull away—"

She kicked him again. "Shut up."

He chuckled. "I'll kiss you again later when I'm more awake, if you want."

He had no intention, of course, but he would not have minded it either.

Many people thought he only went for the most attractive girls. This was false; he didn't discriminate.

"You're disgusting."

He smiled smugly and closed his eyes. "Good night."

"I hope you die in your sleep."

"Aw, you want me to experience a painless death," he said playfully. "If you really want, we can even fuck a li—"

"I have to talk to you."

After taking a full twelve minutes to "change", TK had come outside to discuss with his future wife. In the duration of that time, he decided to do what he was best at: charming her.

TK smiled cutely. "Yes, dearest?"

Kari raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're all right?"

TK smiled and took her gingerly in his arms. "I'm perfect. How are you?"

Kari squirmed uncomfortably. "Well…"

TK kissed the side of her head. "So, since I'm useless and burned our breakfast, how about we go out? Sounds good, hm?"

"TK?"

"Yeah?"

"You're acting very odd."

He chuckled. "I can't show a little affection to the most important person in my life?"

"You mean your mum?"

"No, you!" TK said cutely, burying his nose in her hair. "Kari, have I ever told you that I love you?"

Kari frowned and pulled away. "Judging by your behaviour, I'm guessing Sora told you, so let's get to it. You called me Hina last night. My question: why?"

TK laughed nervously. "Well, I was drunk…"

"Yes, I saw."

"And… well… you see…" TK saw the torn paper on the floor. "In my quest for better understanding… er… and an… Kari, I was drunk. I don't even remember saying that. Listen, Hina and I are over. We've been over for a long time. I know it might _look_ like we're really great friends, but it's awkward and we hardly ever talk or—"

"Just answer this for me, TK." Kari stared directly at his eyes, chilling him. "Do you still like her?"

"No, I don't like her," he said clearly.

She brought her face several centimetres closer. "Honest?"

"Scout's honour."

She lowered her head. "Tch, like you were a scout."

He grinned. "I used to be a boy scout."

She narrowed her eyes. "If you say so."

"I was!"

She stood up. "Come on. You owe me breakfast."

He took a sigh of relief.

"TK?"

He perked up as a dog would upon hearing a can opener. "Yes?"

"We have to meet our parents at one."

"Oh, perfect!" he said, not even caring what the reason was for.

Now all he had to do was avoid Hina for the rest of his life.

"Rika, was I your first kiss?" Ryo teased.

He was now fully awake and currently obsessed with Rika's discomfort.

She, on the other hand, was ignoring him.

"That's cute," Ryo continued, not completely believing it. "I remember my first kiss. I was eleven."

He paused, even though he knew Rika wouldn't respond.

"Yep, I was good," he boasted.

He saw her roll her eyes.

"I was!" he defended. He let out a satisfied sigh.

She ignored him.

"What kind of a girl are you? This is what girls do, isn't it? Sit around and talk about how wonderful their first everything is? Gossip about guys?"

She rolled her eyes again.

"Come on, Rika. I'll admit that you aren't completely repulsive. You can't be a complete virgin when it comes to relationships."

"I am," she said monotonously.

He didn't believe her. Attitude and personality aside, Rika was not an unattractive girl. Complete poison on the inside, but on the outside? No, definitely not.

"I can't believe you're such a loser," he responded, going along with it anyway. "You're seventeen years old! Have you done anything somewhat exciting in your life?"

She lit a cigarette, not caring that it would make the room smell anymore. Ryo wasn't complaining, she wasn't complaining, and their parents never came in.

"Except smoking like a fucking chimney?"

She ignored him.

"So you're telling me you never kissed a guy before?"

"Technically, now I have." She glanced at him. "And I still have to kill you for that, by the way."

She was lying. She had to be. If she had never done it, she would more likely jump off a cliff than admit it to him.

Ryo looked at the back of her head, suddenly very curious about her love life. She was a bit mysterious. He didn't know much about her, and she didn't make an effort to fill him in.

"Ever have sex?"

She turned her head. "Why are you suddenly caring so much?"

He smiled innocently. "Because you look like such a complete disaster. I'm just wondering."

"I am."

"You're lying," he objected accusingly.

She let out a short, sharp laugh. "I'm as much of a virgin as you aren't."

"How do you know I'm not?"

"It's kind of implied."

He smirked. "Well, that shows how little you know me."

She rolled her eyes. "I've had every single class with Hina since I was fourteen. She brags." She rolled her eyes again. "As if sex with you is some sort of grand accomplishment."

"I'll let you know that sex with me happens to be the most amazing thing a person could ever get," he boasted. "You're just angry because I won't do it with you."

She let out a bitter laugh. "I would rather fuck a cow than you."

"See, that's just revolting. I'd rather do you than a cow."

"I'm flattered."

Ryo grinned. "Rika, come on, you can tell me. We're practically the best of friends."

"Basically."

"Rika, tell me."

"I already answered. What do you want me to do? Lie?" Rika rolled her eyes and stood up. "Oh, fuck off already."

"Why are you so vulgar?"

"Why are you so annoying?"

"Because you're easily irritated, and it's kind of funny."

"That's why I'm vulgar."

"Wait, I missed it. Why are you vulgar again?"

"Ryo." Rika gave him a sharp look. "Shut. Up."

He smiled. "You called me by my first name! And here I thought you didn't know what it was. Rika, I'm honoured. Really, I am."

"I was thinking white and gold!" Mrs. Kamiya said excitedly.

"No, I like silver a bit more," Mrs. Takaishi disagreed. "TK, what do you think?"

"Oh, what?" TK lifted his head from its resting position and looked up. "Um, whatever you want, Mum."

Mrs. Takaishi looked pleased.

From the corner, Matt made a face of absolute elation. "Whatever it is you wish, Mummy dearest," he mouthed.

TK frowned. He looked at Kari. "I thought you said our _parents_ would be here."

"TK, stop getting so irritated," Kari said, patting his arm. "Matt's more bored than we are. Remember that."

Their family meeting was for one very clear purpose: discuss the wedding.

"This is nice," Matt said, grinning wildly. "Having the family together for such a joyous occasion and all."

Mr. Ishida gave Matt a look.

"You don't mind if I film this, do you?" Matt asked, taking out his video camera. "It's just too much of an emotional moment to pass up."

Mr. Ishida gave Matt a firmer look.

"Mum, make Matt stop."

"Matt, listen to your brother."

"Why? He's just trying to be cool." Matt lowered his camera. "Which you aren't."

"Shut up, Matt. You're embarrassing."

"_I'm_ embarrassing?" Matt scoffed. "Deal with it, squirt."

Matt lifted his camera.

"Mum!"

"Matt!"

"What?"

"Listen to your brother! He's embarrassed!"

"He's a big baby, that's what he is."

"Am not!"

"Matt!"

"What?"

"Don't insult your brother!"

"What's wrong with being a baby?"

"I'm not a baby!"

"Ha, says you!"

"Matt!"

"What?"

"Don't insult your brother!"

"Mum, you're taking his side again!"

"I'm not taking TK's side. I'm—"

"Dad, tell Mum she's taking TK's side."

"Matt, don't bring me—"

"Matt, don't bring your father into this."

"I'm not. I'm just asking him a question."

"Yamato Ishida, this is family time. Don't you dare ruin it by humiliating your brother in front of his fiancée."

"Ha-ha, you're engaged and you aren't even out of school yet."

"Matt, don't insult your mother's beliefs."

"But, Dad—"

"Don't argue with me."

"TK, tell Dad Mum's beliefs are weird."

"Um…"

A loud groan.

"You two _always_ take each others' side. Dad, why can't you always take my side?"

"Because you're always wrong."

"Shut up, Mr. Kamiya."

"Pardon me?"

"Oh, no, not you, sir. I was talking to TK."

"Ha-ha."

"Shut up, TK."

"You sounded like a jackass."

"TK, don't curse."

"But Matt curses."

"Oh, sure, tell on _me_. Shows how mature _you_ are."

"Matt, you can't curse either."

"But, Mum, TK's being a jackass."

Silence.

"Mum, Matt just said 'jackass!'"

"I'm sorry, honey, but your brother thinks I always take your side so I'm trying to prove him wrong."

Groan. "Dad, Matt just called me a 'jackass.'"

"Matt, don't call your brother a jackass."

"Hiroaki!"

"What?"

"Do not curse in front of children!"

"I didn't!"

"Actually, Dad, you did."

"TK, I'm trying to _help_ you here."

"Oh, sorry."

Silence.

"Can I leave?"

"No, Matt, you may not."

"Why not?"

"Because this is family bonding time."

"Oh."

Silence.

"But this has nothing to do with me."

"It has to do with your brother, so it always has to do with you."

"Oh."

Silence.

"Can _I_ leave?"

"Tai."

"Yes?"

"Stop being immature."

Silence.

TK turned to talk to Kari. Kari turned to talk to TK. Matt turned to laugh with Tai. Tai turned to laugh with Matt. Mrs. Kamiya began discussing wedding plans with Ms. Takaishi. Ms. Takaishi continued as well. Mr. Kamiya sat there. Mr. Ishida stood there.

And all was well once again.

"I felt bad about asking perverse questions earlier…"

"Oh," she replied, uninterested.

Ryo sat on the couch beside her, uncomfortably close to her. "So guess what I did for you."

"What?"

"Guess."

Rika stared at the telly.

"Guess!"

Rika ignored him, still staring at the telly.

"Chocolates!" he said excitedly, ignoring her ignoring of him. He put a box in her lap. "It's one of those assorted ones."

Rika looked at the box. She looked at Ryo. She looked back at the box.

"Why did you buy me chocolates, Ryo?"

"Because I can," he said, beaming. "Now, open it."

She stared at him suspiciously. "You open it."

Rolling his eyes, he did so. "Okay, now eat them!"

"Ryo, what the fuck are you trying to do?"

He laughed. "You don't trust me." He took a random chocolate. "I'll eat one first."

He ate it.

"Eat that one," Rika said, pointing to another one.

You know, just in case he had planned it out.

He ate it.

"Come on, I didn't buy it for me!"

Rika shrugged, closed the box, and handed it to Ryo. "I don't like chocolate."

"Manners, Rika, _manners_. It isn't about if you like it or not."

"I don't like chocolate."

"Fine, well, if you feel like eating it, they aren't poisoned." Ryo stood up. "I'm going out. You stay here. Don't go anywhere until you tell either your mum or my parents, okay?"

"Yes, sir," she said sarcastically.

He smiled. "Okay then. Eat the chocolate."

"Chocolate!"

"You dumbass, ice cream!"

"Ice cream melts. _Now_ who's the dumbass!"

"Who has _chocolate_ cake at a wedding?"

"Who has _ice cream_ cake at a wedding?"

"I would!"

"That's because you're stupid!"

"You're stupid!"

"Oh, ouch, good one."

"Shut up, Matthew."

"My name's not Matth—"

"I like red velvet," Kari said suddenly.

"Oh, red velvet's disgusting," Matt offered.

"No it isn't," Tai objected. "Not as good as ice cream, but—"

"You'd eat anything. You're like a fucking horse. Listen to me Kari, chocolate is the way to go."

"I do not eat like a horse and—"

"Tai!"

"Matt!"

"Yes?" they answered in unison.

"Is this your wedding?" Ms. Takaishi asked.

"No," they replied in sync.

"Then stop talking."

"I'd stop if Tai wouldn't have stupid ideas. Honestly, Mum, _ice cream_ cake. What's poor Takeru going to do when he cuts the cake that has turned to liquid? He'd cry, Mum. You know he would."

"Shut up."

"You would."

"Red velvet's fine," Mrs. Kamiya said, who had learned long ago to just ignore the teenage boys.

"Yes, I like it," Kari agreed, who had learned the same.

"Ha-ha, TK's a bayyyyyyyyyyyybeeeeeeee," Tai teased.

"Am not!"

"I have a funny story about TK and wetting his bed," Matt said loudly.

"MATT!"

"TK, don't interrupt. So, one day when he was—"

"Yamato," Mr. Ishida said warningly.

"Come on, Dad, you _know_ it's funny."

"Matt!"

"It's _funny_!"

"You ate my chocolates!" Ryo said excitedly.

Rika looked up. "Don't look so pleased." She gestured to the box of chocolates on the table. "I didn't eat them. I threw them out."

He frowned. "You're so ungracious."

"I'm allergic to raspberries, and it tells you on the box they have them." Rika glared. "I'm not stupid, you know. And I can't even believe that you'd try to kill me in the first place."

He frowned again, stepping into the bathroom. "You aren't any fun at all."

"Finally, you're done." Rika pushed Ryo out of the way and walked into the bathroom. "Nice glasses, by the way. You look completely retarded."

He straightened them. He had to admit, glasses were the most annoying things on Earth and they decreased his attractiveness a little in his opinion. It wasn't really the glasses—it was more how thick they were. Kylie used to call them magnifying glasses.

But Kylie did such a fantastic job blabbing out that he had bad eyesight, he supposed it wouldn't kill him to wear the thing once in a while. After all, Rika wasn't the kind of person who would spread it around school.

And he supposed having bad eyesight wasn't too terrible; many people did. He just preferred that people thought of him as physically flawless.

"They're Armani, Rika. They're stylish."

"You sound gay."

"I can't help it if I look good, Rika."

"You look like one of those stereotypical nerds."

He straightened them a bit more. "I look amazing."

"Rika!"

"Yes?"

"What is this?"

"What is what?"

"This!"

Rika stood up and walked to the bathroom. "What is 'this'?"

"This!" Ryo pointed to the spotted sink.

"Oh, those are your dried contact lenses."

His eyes dilated. "You dried out my contact lenses?"

"Oh, yes, I thought I'd get back at you for trying to feed me raspberries. I wanted to break your glasses too, but I figured if I ever need you to go with me somewhere—"

"You dried out my contact lenses!"

"Yes."

His mouth went agape. "Rika!"

"What's wrong?" she answered matter-of-factly. "I thought you said your glasses were stylish."


	13. Reunited

This chapter is a filler. The original chapter was honestly 20 words long, so I couldn't do much to it. This is why I'm posting two chapters.

Anyway, tell me what you think. I'm sorry once again. Due to severe limits with time, I can no longer respond to every review. All, however, have the same value to me.

**Hating You 13: Reunited**

"We're here," Ryo said quietly.

"Yeah."

"You know, to be completely honest, this was a million times more terrible than I thought it would be."

Rika gave him an odd look. "Okay."

"I wasn't finished. But it also was a lot more fun than I expected." Ryo readjusted his glasses. "I mean, when's the last time some girl dried out all my contact lenses to make me look uglier? Or made me vomit so much I thought I would dehydrate to death? Or lock me in a bathroom for eight straight hours?"

"Your definition of fun is very odd."

He smiled. "Come on, you don't think this whole experience was the funniest thing ever?"

"No, actually, I didn't enjoy any of it."

He threw one of her suitcases at her feet. "Fine, be difficult. I could tell you liked sharing a room with me."

Rather than respond as he expected her to, Rika simply replied, "Bring my other one out too."

Ryo did not have a suitcase to bring aboard. Therefore, he had allowed Rika to use his space out of kindness.

"Fine," he muttered, disappointed that Rika wasn't giving some sort of nostalgic feedback on their holiday.

"And could you throw this away?"

"Ryo, could you hold your mother's bag while you're at it?"

"Son, carry my laptop for me."

"My, what a nice son you have," Rumiko complimented.

"HA!" Rika said loudly as she left the airplane.

"Well then, good-bye."

"Rika, you aren't even going to do something cute like give me a hug or something? It still isn't too late to change my negative view of you."

She took both of her suitcases. "If it's a hug you want, go ask my mum. She'll love to give you one."

"I can't believe you're leaving me so unceremoniously." Ryo crossed his arms across his chest. "And here I thought I had formed a special bond with you. Are you even going to speak to me during school?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't want to embarrass you."

"I cannot believe _you_ chose to marry _him_."

TK lifted an eye from the couch. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"_You_ are _his_ friend," Rika explained plainly.

"Hey!" Ryo sat up. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"How come I'm always seen as Matt's brother and Ryo's friend, but not as my own person?" TK asked aloud.

"Because you aren't important… and we are." Ryo gave TK a joking smile.

Rika scoffed. "A bunch of _kids_ worshipping you is hardly considered important."

"Hey, at least I have somebody."

"Quantity over quality, Ryo."

"You say it as if Kari isn't as bad as you."

"Hey," TK objected. "Kari's okay." He looked at Rika nervously. "Not saying you aren't. I just don't know you so I can't really judge—"

"I get it," Rika said sharply.

Kari laughed nervously. "Come on, I can't believe you guys went on holiday together, and you still can't get along."

"I was never associated with him before Australia, so I don't see any reason—"

"Oh, don't worry. Rika and I are the best of friends."

"You are such a bastard. I can't believe your friend somehow convinced Kari that he is somewhat of a decent guy." Rika glowered at Ryo. "I'm never talking to you again, so stop talking to me."

"Hey, TK's a great guy!"

"Hey man, as much as I appreciate you sticking up for me—"

"Calling him a great guy in such a forceful tone makes you sound homosexual," Rika finished.

"I am not a bloody faggot."

"And don't use faggot as a synonym for homosexual."

"I thought you were never talking to me again."

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are. You just said something."

"Stop talking to me."

"I'm not talking to you."

"Fine."

"Stop talking to me, Rika."

"I'm not."

"You just said something."

She glared.

"So, uh, nice glasses, Ryo! I didn't know you needed them," TK tried hopefully. "They're really thick, actually. How long have—"

"It's actually a very funny story," Ryo interrupted, smiling at Rika. "You see—"

"Don't smile at me," she ordered, disgusted.

He smiled obnoxiously. "You mean like this?"

"I can't stand him anymore. Good-bye Kari." Rika stood up and gave Ryo a hateful look. She walked to the door before turning around. "Oh, and Kari's little friend."

TK waved good-naturedly.

"Bye, baby," Ryo said loudly.

She flicked him off.

TK and Kari exchanged looks of confusion.

"It's complicated," Ryo boasted once Rika shut the door, "but I think she wants me."

Kari stared. "Really?"

He sat up. "Are you joking? That girl's asexual."

"No, she isn't," Kari said quickly.

Ryo smirked. "How do you know? You're her friend, right? Tell me—I'm just wondering. Has she ever had any boyfriends or anything of that sort?"

Short chapter, but that makes up for all those long ones I've been having lately. Now, read Chapter 14!


	14. What Slavery Leads To

One thing about this chapter: There is no scene with TK or Kari. There actually was something going on, but in the middle of writing it, I forgot where it was going. Sorry Takari fans.

**Hating You 14: What Slavery Leads To**

Ryo walked up to a plain clock and examined it before giving it several hard taps. He could see her glaring at him hatefully, but he couldn't care less. This was to be the best day of his life.

"I'm surprised you let me in your room," Ryo said, finally. "Nice clock."

Rika watched him suspiciously from her bed, watching him as he observed every centimetre of her room. "You let yourself in, remember?"

He continued to tap the clock. "The clock in my room breaks whenever I tap it."

"Why are you here?" she asked wryly.

"I missed you," he said matter-of-factly, losing interest of her clock and walking to a stuffed animal. "Ha-ha, you have stuffed animals? My six-year-old cousin has stuffed animals."

"Why are you here?" she repeated.

"I missed you," he repeated, giving her a smile. He pushed his glasses up his nose. "I'm wearing these for you. Did you notice?"

"Hard not to miss them. They're like magnifying glasses."

Feeling somewhat sensitive, he touched them. "They are not."

She rolled her eyes and looked back at the schoolwork spread across her bed. "Look, I have homework to do. If you're here to harass me, please leave."

"Can't I visit my best friend?" Ryo asked, picking up an empty picture frame. "I thought of you all yesterday and today. Enjoy a little bit of affection, Rika."

"I'd enjoy it so much more if I actually looked at you positively." She frowned. "Shame that I don't. Please leave."

"I talked to Kari yesterday," he said immediately.

"Oh, you weren't scared it would hurt your reputation?" she asked sourly.

He smiled. "You think so little of me, Rika."

"Do I? I've never noticed." She gave him a fake smile. "Hard to imagine not thinking highly of a guy as saintly as you though."

"I called you asexual," he continued, ignoring her sarcasm.

"So?" she asked with utter disinterest.

"She defended you."

"So?" Her voice, still impartial.

"She told me some interesting stuff about you."

She looked at him, now pretending not to be interested. "Like what?"

"I thought you wanted me to leave," he teased, looking quite pleased with himself.

She raised her eyebrow, annoyed and suddenly not concerned again. "I do. Go."

She turned back to her textbook.

"Okay." He headed toward the door, taking long, slow steps. "I'll just ask you about Jenrya later. School maybe?"

She didn't look up. He opened the door slowly. She still didn't look up.

"Bye Rika," he said, closing the door.

She sat there for a second; and then, furiously, she stood up and followed him.

Ryo did a 180 turn to see Rika walk out of her gate, a sour look plastered upon her face. "O-ho-ho, does Miss Makino fancy me?"

Rika raised an eyebrow in annoyance. "Shut up, will you?"

Ryo put his hands behind his neck, watching Rika shut her home gate and waiting for her. "I love how as soon as I mention this Jenrya fellow, you're suddenly _so_ eager to be with me."

"I don't know what Kari said—"

"Oh, she said plenty," he interrupted, eyes twinkling with glee.

"—but Jen's a friend."

Ryo smirked. "Ooh, a friend? Really?"

"No, I'm covering up because I'm embarrassed," Rika said sarcastically. "Yes, really."

"Then why so panicked?" He turned around once again and began walking.

"I'm not panicked." Rika angrily walked faster to catch up with him. "I just know you're friends with Hina and that you have the biggest mouth on this face of the pl—what the bloody fuck are you doing, Akiyama!"

Ryo took her left hand with both of his and pressed two fingers to her wrist.

"Checking your pulse to see if you're lying," he said nonchalantly. "Thought it would be safer than your neck and chest."

He smiled at her, and she stared at him blankly.

"Eh?" He shook her hand before letting go of it. "According to your pulse, you're dead."

She snapped out of her phase and gave him an annoyed look. "Are you that stupid to the point you can't find a person's pulse?"

She shook her head, realising she had gone off topic. "Anyway, as I was saying, Hina will—"

"Nobody's that interested in your life. _I_ have never heard of you until two weeks ago." Ryo gave her an I'm-so-better-than-you kind of look. "Besides, I don't gossip."

"I'm sure," she muttered. She put a lock of hair behind her ear. "Anyway, if you spread a rumour, I'll kill you."

"Yeah, yeah, I'd like to see you try." He crossed his arms superiorly, smirking down at her.

Rika, defeated, just glared. "What did Kari say?"

"Plenty."

"That isn't what I meant."

"I'm not sure I understand your question."

"Fine then, I'll call Kari and ask her myself."

"Fine, I'll call Hina and tell her."

Rika glared at him. "Why on Earth do you even _care_?"

"I don't." He took out his mobile and slid it open. "It's just fun, isn't it? Perfect blackmail. Revenge for all the times you've fucked me over."

"Are you honestly that childish?"

"Suppose so." He tossed his mobile and caught it again. "So, are you calling Kari?"

"No, I haven't got a phone on me."

Ryo gave his phone to her. "Go ahead. You gain a little bit of trivial knowledge from Kari, Hina gains a little bit of trivial knowledge from me. It all works out, huh Rika?"

Rika chucked his phone at his face, but he caught it.

"So, now that that's been cleared up," he smiled, "what are we to do about this situation?"

"What the hell do you want?"

Her fists were clenched tightly near her hips, glaring at him more fiercely than she ever had.

"It's simple, very simple." He pocketed his mobile and lowered his face to hers. "Sex."

"What?"

"Have sex with me."

She looked blankly at him.

He smiled.

She hit his cheek without consideration.

"Are you mad!" she shrieked.

He touched his cheek. Her slap had been a light one, so there was no pain—nothing like what he had expected.

"You can't do that, you dumb shit!" She smacked him across the head. "What sort of grotty blackmail is this, you—"

"Slave."

Her rising rant stopped abruptly by Ryo's interruption. "What?"

"You are my slave from now on." He ran his fingers through his now-mussed up hair. "I was kidding about the sex thing." He gave her a superior smirk. "Obviously, you'd be getting the better deal, so why would I do something like that, Rika?" He leaned closer to her. "What? Did you think that I actually wanted to do anything physical with you? Were you getting excited? You didn't actually say no."

She gave him a dark look. "No."

He smirked and backed off from her space. "Of course if you really wanted to, we could arrange that too."

"What _are_ you? Some sort of dodgy prostitute?"

"Gigolo's the correct word." He ignored her death glare. "Now, on to serious matters. You're going to be my slave until the end of our holiday."

She gave him a look. "I think you have forgotten that you're my slave from Australia."

"Well, now it's been switched, hasn't it?"

"You're joking if you think I will be your stupid slave."

"Oh, Rika, my Rika, how quickly you forget." Ryo rested a hand on her head. "And how quickly a small rumour call can absolutely destroy you." He sighed happily. "Don't you just love life sometimes?"

She shoved his hand away. "I swear to God I'll kill you."

"So, slave, I expect you at my house tomorrow. Say… 8?"

"Welcome to my humble abode, Rika," Ryo said friendlily. "Take a good look at it. You'll be cleaning it for the next several hours."

"Are you joking?"

Ryo's house was easily the largest home she had ever seen in her life, and she was sure cleaning it would be close to impossible.

"Nope. I gave all the maids the rest of the week off, so you could take their spot." He smiled. "Why? Problem? I mean, if you want to back out of this…"

"No problem, Ryo," she said through clenched teeth.

"That's what I thought. Don't worry though. I have something else for you to do first. Come on, it's in the best room of the house."

"What is this?" Rika asked as Ryo set down several books and notebooks in front of her.

"Holiday homework," he responded. "We've got school soon, so I'll need you to do this for me."

She gave him a dirty look. "You want me to do your… homework."

"That's what I said."

"Fine." She picked up a pen and opened a notebook.

He shut it again. "Don't think about jacking it up either."

"I wasn't going to, Ryo," she said threateningly.

"Ahem, you mean _Master_."

"Shut up."

"Didn't I say you're not allowed to insult me?" Ryo smirked. "You have three warnings before I blab it all to Hina. For refusing to call me Master and using vulgar language, there goes one. You're lucky I'm nice and didn't give you two."

Rika glared at him.

"Remember to write a bit messily. I bet you have that girly sort of handwriting."

"I'm done," Rika said, closing a textbook and looking up at Ryo who was watching telly from his bed.

He raised an eyebrow.

"I'm done, _Master_," Rika said darkly.

He chuckled and threw a paper airplane at her. "Chores. Go."

She opened the paper.

_Clean room, Clean house, Dishes, Laundry, Dad's laundry, Mum's laundry, Organise closet, Organise CD collection, Organise DVD collection, Take out trash from all rooms in the house._

"Do you even do chores?" she asked suspiciously. Ryo hardly seemed like a helper-around-the-house sort of fellow.

"No, but I heard this is what normal people do," he answered prissily.

"Prick," she muttered to herself.

"I heard that."

"Good." She looked up and saw his eyes were still glued to the screen. She flicked him off.

"And I saw that."

"Good."

"Keep doing it, Rika. See what happens?"

She snatched her paper and left the room, wishing to start with what was farthest away from Ryo Akiyama.

"RIKA! RIKA! RIKA! RIKA! RIKA! RIKA!"

Barely hearing Ryo's voice in his oversized mansion, she dropped what she was doing, ran out of the laundry room, dashed across the hallway past the lounge, ran up a flight of winded stairs, sprinted across longer hallway, took a right and hurried across a shorter hallway, and rushed into Ryo's room, completely out of breath.

"Yes?"

He didn't respond.

"Yes, Master?"

"I'm hungry. Be a good girl and cook me something."

She clenched her fists. "Anything in particular? _Master_?"

"Anything will do. I want it within fifteen minutes."

"I hate macaroni and cheese," Ryo said matter-of-factly. "Couldn't you make me something a bit more appealing?"

Why she cared so much, she did not know. Jenrya was always only a friend, and to be completely honest, he was hardly considered _that_ great of a friend. Kari probably exaggerated, considering she thought there really had been something.

The last thing she needed now, however, was for Hina to taunt her about him. She could already hear the sound of her annoying voice now.

"_Rika has a_boyfriend_. Rika, I can't imagine_any_guy wanting_you_as his girlfriend. I bet he's really ugly, huh? Is he ugly? Why are you ignoring me, Rika? That's it; you think he's ugly too. A-ha-ha-ha!"_

Who was the more appalling human being: Ryo or Hina, Rika could not say. Hina would never make Rika be her personal slave, but she currently would rather his torture than hers. She still considered, after all, Hina her first and biggest rival.

"Just go to China Garden and get me a bit of everything," Ryo said, looking bored though both knew he was thrilled at her discomfort. "You've got money, haven't you?"

"No."

This was false; she had plenty. She just didn't feel like spending it on Ryo's food was all.

Ryo gave a loud, exaggerated sigh. "Tomorrow, bring some." He flipped a credit card her direction. "Pay me back later."

"I thought I was your slave. Slaves don't get paid or buy masters—"

"So then, that's another warning," he interrupted, a smile of utter laughter plastered upon his face. "The first day and you're already out two strikes. I suggest you hurry along and get me food."

She looked at the bowl of macaroni and cheese on her lap. She could just dismiss her future consequences and throw it directly at his face.

Instead, she turned her heel and walked out of his room.

Walking up Ryo's driveway was a workout in itself; it seemed nearly a kilometre long. Walking up Ryo's driveway carrying a million Chinese takeout boxes nearly caused her to faint.

Finding Ryo's room in his enormous mansion was mind-boggling. Finding Ryo's room out of breath while carrying a million Chinese takeout boxes was suicidal.

Wondering if she should knock but realising Ryo would find that offensive as it would indeed require him to get off his lazy arse, Rika balanced all boxes in one hand as she opened the knob with the other.

"Oh, you're back," Ryo acknowledged, still watching telly on his large plasma screen. "You took too long, so I already ate. I don't want it anymore."

A smug smirk spread across his face as he turned back to his programme.

Rika, speechless, stood there.

There were a million things in her head telling her what to do next, but what could she do?

He turned his head back to her. "Well, are you going to stand there all day and stare at me or are you going to go back to work like you're supposed to?"

Every box of takeout food went flying, landing on Ryo, his bed, and his floor.

"Go fuck yourself," she said darkly. She turned her heel and headed out the door.

She heard Ryo leaping out of his bed, but she ignored it. If he was going to yell at her, she wouldn't listen. If he was going to apologise—and fat chance that would happen—she still wouldn't listen. From this day forward, she would pretend he didn't exist. If he agitated her, she would take it out on the closest person.

"Rika! Hey, Rika!"

She stormed down his corridor, quickening her pace for she knew Ryo would quicken his. She thought of running, but that would look stupid.

"Hey, Rika Makino! I'm talking to you!"

Forgetting exactly how to exit his home, she continued walking.

"You take a left there," came Ryo's voice.

She took a right instead, continuing to ignore his existence.

She came across a dead end.

Sounds of Ryo chuckling.

She turned around. "You—"

Silence overcame her as something smashed against her face and invaded her mouth.

"You, Rika, are the biggest bitch alive," Ryo said, a now-empty carton in his hand.

She spit whatever food was in her mouth at his face. "_I'm_ a bitch? How on Earth can you tell me that_I'm_ the bitch when _you're_ forcing me to be your fucking slave? Not only that, you're making me do mindless chores _when you have hired help_, and you're making _me_ go halfway across the damn country to buy you food only so—"

"So what? You made me vomit, _and_ you locked me in the bathroom for hours. It wasn't like I was going to keep up with this slave thing forever—"

"You made yourself vomit, first of all, and it wasn't _my_ fault you were stupid enough to lock yourself in the bathroom. You're retarded, so what? You're going to blame me for your stupidity?"

"I made myself vomit, but it wasn't my fault. You falsely accused me of abusing you and—" Ryo stopped. "Why the hell would you tell my parents I hit you! Do you know how much trouble I got into—"

"Good. I hope they grounded you for the rest of your pathetic life." Rika took globs of food off her face, throwing them at Ryo in anger. Slightly less drenched in food, Ryo did the same, instead throwing food at her. "Stop it!"

"You started it," he said, childishly.

"_You_ started it when you told me—"

"And where do you get off throwing food all over the place? How immature can you get, Rika?"

"You are completely and utterly ridiculous to be calling me immature." She shoved him, only succeeding in making him stumble. "And where do _you_ get off throwing food at me? Isn't that just lowering yourself to my level, pretending that I am lower than you—_which I'm not_."

He shoved her lightly. "Where do you get off pushing me?"

She shoved him harder. "What kind of a guy are you? Hitting a girl?"

"You think _this_," he shoved her, "is considered hitting?"

"Yes, I do." She shoved him back.

"What, you want me to actually hit you?" He raised his hands and cracked his knuckles, attempting to look intimidating.

She was unaffected. "Go right on fucking ahead, Ryo."

He lowered them. "Why? You'll just cry to my parents again. I might as well just—"

She punched him.

Ryo stood there in awe, using his strength to ignore the pain now apparent in his eye.

"You're weak," he said quickly.

She punched him harder in the same spot, and he could have sworn she punctured a tear duct. Luckily, no tears fell. Instead, he stood there emotionless again.

"Do you want to try that again?" she asked.

"You can punch me all you want. You're still weak."

She kicked his shin, and he toppled to the floor before she threw herself at him.

She smiled to herself, admiring her work.

After a successful beating, she had managed to give Ryo a large gash on his lip, a bruised eye, a nosebleed, and two painful kicks southward.

"You… cheated…" Ryo groaned, twitching in pain as he protectively shielded his groin area.

"Say cheese."

"Wha—"

Sounds of a camera shutter.

"Rika, what the hell!" He suddenly found his second wind as he walked up to her, only to lose it when she hit his shin painfully.

She looked gleefully at her mobile screen. "Don't you love technology?" She tapped the screen. "I guess £200 on a high-tech mobile phone wasn't such a waste after all. I'll have to thank my mum later."

"I'll… kill… you…"

"Oh, look how repulsive you look, touching yourself with such a mutilated face," she taunted, holding the mobile close to his face. "You've even got those hideous magnifying glasses on."

He made a grab for it, missing and resulting in her kicking him arm.

She squatted beside him. "Tell anybody about Jen, I'll print a copy of this for every centimetre of wall our school has."

She gave him a smug look and stood up.

"Rika."

She looked down at him.

"You're cute when you get all bitchy like that."

She kicked his stomach and walked out of the hallway. He waited for the sound of the front door closing before he rolled over on his side and let out a loud, harsh cough, wondering if he was internally bleeding.

_Random fact about Chapter 14: In the original version, it was Rika who blackmailed Ryo into being her slave._

**Random fact about myself:** I'm in Germany for the World Cup! Absolutely gutted over England's loss.


	15. The Idea

I'll just say this before anybody else does: yes, I know the plot changes. Dramatically. Starting next chapter or so, it practically is a new fanfic. But _Hating You_ is not a short story wrapped around a single main event, but rather several that happen within a two-year period of time.

Warning beforehand that Matt is very out-of-character.

**Hating You 15: The Idea**

Rika examined herself in the mirror.

Plain, white vest. Ripped, knackered jeans. Dirty, brown trainers.

Yes, it would do. She turned her head towards the floor, shook her unwashed hair wildly with both hands, and stood back up. It now tousled messily, she smirked at herself.

A small knock came from her door, and she could see the silhouette of her mother just outside, waiting. "Rika, are you ready to leave? We're going to be late!"

"Just a second!"

Sometime during the trip, her mum had decided that Ryo and she were absolutely perfect for each other. She wouldn't stop gushing about him, and as far as Rika was concerned, she refused to allow Ryo's parents to think the same.

She opened the door to reveal herself, coming face-to-face with her mother's mortified face.

"Rika, what on _Earth_ are you wearing!"

"Do you like it?" she asked, giving her hair another tousle. "It's… trendy, right? Read it in the latest issue of Vogue."

"That was not in the latest issue of Vogue, Rika, and I refuse to allow you to leave for the Akiyamas' house looking like _that_! They have invited us to a dinner—"

"Oops, we're going to be late, Mum! Let's go!"

Rika seized her mother by her handbag and dragged her towards the taxi waiting outside.

"So what does this Rika look like?" Matt asked, checking his hair in Ryo's bathroom mirror again. "I mean, is she halfway decent?"

TK answered before Ryo could. "She has red hair, p—"

"Eh, I don't like redheads," Matt interrupted, examining what appeared to be a split end. He frowned. "You can have her, Akiyama."

Ryo rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks. I was just about ready to fight you for her."

Matt sighed as he pulled out the blond hair and let it fall on the floor. "High school girls aren't my thing anyway. They're ridiculously stupid, you know what I mean?" His eyes fell onto a bottle on Ryo's bathroom counter.

He picked it up.

"Dude, is this makeup?"

TK, who had been watching telly, looked their way.

Ryo flushed slightly and seized the bottle. He had borrowed it from his mother to conceal some bruises Rika had left behind and had forgotten to put it back. "It must be my mum's. She comes in here all the time."

Matt burst out in laughter, pointing. "You use makeup!"

TK too was chuckling on Ryo's bed.

"I do not!" Ryo yelled, still blushing. "It's my mum's!"

Matt grabbed some toilet paper, wet up, and walked up to Ryo. "Okay then, Miss Akiyama. Let me check."

"Get away from me!"

"Ryo! TK! Matt! The Makinos are here!" came Ryo's mother's voice from the other end of the door.

"Really? Cool!" Ryo rushed out the door.

Matt and TK gave each other knowing looks and chuckled.

"Your friend is a little gay. You better watch out, TK."

"Why _hello_. I don't believe we were properly introduced. My name is Matt Ishida. I'm TK's older brother." Matt shoved TK out of the way, outstretched an arm, and shook Rika's hand, a charming smile spread across his handsome face.

Rika scoffed. "Yes, I can see that."

Matt gave a low chuckle. "Of course. We're so very much alike."

Rika withdrew her hand. "Yes, I can see that too."

Ryo rolled his eyes at TK.

Matt flashed another smile. "Ryo talks about you constantly, but he's never mentioned how beautiful you are."

"However did I forget to mention something like that?" Ryo commented loudly.

"Shut up, brat." Matt turned around to give Ryo a look before looking back at Rika, smiling. "Kids these days. They're so bad-mannered."

"Um, yeah." Rika gave him a displeased smile. "Excuse me, but I'm going to find my mother."

"Oh, I know where she is!" Matt lied.

"So do I," she said, already walking away.

When she out of earshot, Ryo chuckled. "You've basically got her, man."

"Where are the boys?" Kari asked, realising all four teenage boys were missing from the table. Their parents dined separately while she and Rika sat around a smaller table.

"Who cares?" Rika muttered, taking a piece of broccoli and nibbling it. "More for us."

Kari looked at her unsurely. "Rika, why are you dressed so…?"

She drifted off, unable to think of a kind way of describing the style.

"So Ryo's parents think I'm disgusting," Rika answered, smirking. "I don't want them to get weird ideas, like I should like their good-for-nothing son. Mum's already crazy about him."

Kari giggled.

"And what's with TK's dodgy brother? Is he always so weird?"

Before Kari could reply, the four boys walked into the room, Matt leading with a dazzling smile.

"Hel-_lo_, ladies."

"Hi guys!" Kari greeted as the four boys walked in.

"I think I'll sit… here." Matt sat down beside Rika. "Oh, Rika. Hello. I had almost forgotten you were here"

Tai sat beside Matt, Ryo beside Tai, and TK beside Ryo so he was between him and Kari.

"Hello… er, what is it that you said your name was?" Rika asked, perfectly aware of his name.

"Matt," he said, smiling and seemingly not offended. "My name is Matt."

"Hi Rika," Tai said, smiling. He and Rika had met before, but they had never talked to each other.

"Hi," Rika said with mild interest.

"Broccoli?" Matt queried, looking at Rika's plate. "My favourite!"

He took a spoonful and offered Rika some.

"I already have some," Rika said.

"Could I have some?" Kari asked.

Matt nonchalantaly slid the plate towards Kari's general direction, still smiling at Rika. "So, are you single?"

Ryo scoffed, "You mean you actually thought she wasn't?"

Rika shot him a glare.

Matt followed suit. "Ryo, stop being childish." He looked at Rika again. "Some people's kids. Their behaviour… absolutely appalling."

"Yes, you've said that already."

"Oh, have I?" Matt chuckled.

"Yes."

Tai cleared his throat. "Hey, Ryo, tell me your parents are going to let us have something to drink. I'm dying here."

"_Taichi Kamiya_!" Matt exclaimed. "How dare you even _think_ that we should have _alcohol_ in the presence of four _underage_—"

"Act like you don't drink," Ryo interrupted.

"Shut it, Urkel," Matt said darkly, referring to Ryo by the new nickname that he had made up moments ago.

Ryo, still somewhat sensitive, pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Would you give me some, Tai?" Rika interrupted.

"Er…"

"I will!" Matt offered loudly. "I'm _twenty_, you know."

"Oh, good for you." Rika looked disinterested.

Ryo rolled his eyes once again, sipping water. "You can get some, if you want."

"I'll be right on it!" Matt said, standing up. "Come on, Tai!"

Tai and Matt walked out of the room, and Rika immediately turned to face Kari.

"Switch seats with me."

"But—"

"You and Matt seem to be getting along well," Ryo interrupted.

"Yes, we are, aren't we?" Rika gave him a smug smile. "Almost as well as you and me."

"Seems like he fancies you."

"I didn't notice." She gave TK a dark look. "Tell your brother to back off before I—"

"Maybe if you weren't so flirty," Ryo interrupted.

She gave him a look of utter disbelief. "_Flirty_? You think I'm _flirting_ with him?"

"'_Oh, what is it that you said your name was?_'" Ryo asked in a high-pitched voice. He rolled his eyes and impaled a piece of chicken with his fork. "Please. Like 'Matt' is such a complicated name that you could forget it in five minutes."

"You're so completely ridiculous that I hardly can stand it," Rika said, shaking her head. "You're without a doubt the dumbest piece of shit on this planet."

"Whatever."

"Fine. Frankly, I don't understand why you care so much."

"I don't. I just think it's a hypocritical of you to always talk shit about girls who act like you're acting right now."

If she could, her jaw would have dropped to the floor. "You are ridiculous. Stop talking to me."

"I will after you stop talking to me."

She narrowed her eyes. "You started it."

"You're both childish," TK muttered.

Ryo shot TK a look before thrusting the piece of chicken in his mouth.

Rika promptly began trying to make Kari switch seats again.

"This is me during high school. I won Best Hair."

"Oh."

Matt beamed. "It was no contest, absolutely!"

"Oh."

He lovingly patted his hair. "It's a lot nicer than my brother's, huh?"

"Oh."

Rika rolled her eyes Kari's way, who winced piteously. Matt had been trying to court her for the past thirty minutes. His technique? Boasting of himself.

Highly successful so far.

Even TK was getting tired of his own brother, fiddling with a loose thread on his shirt.

Ryo's expression mostly resembled Rika's.

"I remember when I won the school talent show. What an achievement."

"Oh."

It wasn't that Rika hated Matt.

It was more that he annoyed the hell out of her.

"Have I mentioned how well I play the guitar?"

Kari stood up. "I'm just going to get a glass of water."

TK immediately followed suit. "I'll accompany you!"

"Co-dependent," Matt muttered before facing Rika again. "Anyway, as I was saying…"

"TK, I was thinking…"

As Kari opened the door of the refrigerator to take out two bottles of water, she thoughtfully pondered for a while.

"Yeah?"

"Don't you think Ryo and Rika would be cute together?"

"No."

"Why not?"

TK shrugged. "I just don't."

"Well, think about it."

TK paused. "No. They're too different."

"I was thinking maybe we could play cupid."

"What?" TK raised an eyebrow. "No thank you."

"TK!"

"Kari, I don't care about their relationship."

"TK, he's your best friend."

"Which is why I shouldn't interfere."

"Just listen to this. I think we should send them to a foreign country and get them to fall in love there!"

Silence.

"Don't you think that's a good idea, TK?"

TK stared his girlfriend, incredulous. "Kari, do you even hear the words coming out of your mouth? It's the most absurd thing I have ever heard in my life. First of all, their parents won't agree. If they do, they're idiots. I know for a fact that Ryo's parents aren't idiots. I can't say much about Rika's mum, but I'm sure she's not that dumb. Second, it won't work. What makes you think even for a second that Ryo and Rika will fall for each other in a foreign country when they can't even stand each other in their home country? That doesn't make sense at all. Third, I know Ryo, and he's the kind of guy who'll jump at the opportunity to meet new people rather than stick around to Rika. I mean, if you send them to Switzerland or something so they can't communicate with anybody else… No, it's a stupid plan. It won't work."

"Want to bet?"

"Yes, I do want to bet actually."

Kari smiled. "I bet you £100 I can get them to America."

"Tch, I'll bet you _£1,000,000_ you can't."

"You're on, TK." Kari outstretched her hand. "Shake it."

TK blinked. "Kari, are you kidding? You're giving up a lot of money, and it isn't like I'm going to take your money, for God's sakes. What sort of a guy do you take me for—"

Kari took his hand and shook it. "Watch. You're going to owe me £1,000,000 in a couple of minutes."

"Kari, I think you're sick or something, because honestly, I've never seen you in such a delirious state before. Have you been taking Matt's drugs or something? You must have. You're a sensible person, aren't you?"

"So let me get this straight." Rumiko Makino put a delicate finger to her chin. "Rika has deep, passionate feelings for Ryo that she doesn't want to admit because she's embarrassed her classmates will make fun of her?"

"And Ryo secretly is in love with her but can't say anything to her in fear of social rejection?" continued Mrs. Akiyama.

"And because he thinks Rika will freak out, never talk to him again, and he'll lose her forever?" Rumiko added.

"So they don't realise they both like the other?" Mrs. Akiyama.

"When they both just want to reveal each others' feelings?" Rumiko.

"So what I'm saying is that you should move them both out of the country, let them fall in love, and bring them back! First of all, it'll look great for university. They studied abroad! They'll be able to speak more than one language! They'll learn new cultures and ways of life and everything! It'll be great! Loads of people do it nowadays."

"Well, it is educational," Mrs. Akiyama said slowly.

"And it is love!" chimed Rumiko.

"And English is very helpful in careers… Ryo could touch up on his."

"Great!" Kari chirped.

TK stared.

No, there was just no way.

Their parents were idiots.

He wanted to die from the absurdity of it all. This was almost too humiliating for him to deal with. He stood up and walked back to where Matt, Ryo, and Rika currently sat, Matt still talking a hundred words a minute, Ryo and Rika still sitting there.

"Hi," he greeted.

"Hi," Ryo muttered.

"Hello, TK!" Matt greeted.

Rika ignored him.

"You could say hi," Ryo said.

"Or I could not say hi," Rika retorted. "What's your point?"

"You're the rudest girl on the planet, Rika."

"Please act as if _you're_ polite."

"More polite than you."

"Oh, well, there's something for me to strive for."

"Ryo, shut up and reapply your makeup. It's starting to get cakey," Matt interrupted before gazing upon Rika. "Rika, I find your lack of decorum sexy."

"Oh, shut up, will you!"

"I do _not_ wear makeup!"

"You wear makeup! Gross!"

"I don't!"

"You're such a freak, Ryo."

Ryo, annoyed, stood up and stormed out of the room.

TK almost laughed. What was pitiable before was now hysterical. _Poor saps._

In Japan, it is not weird for high school students to study abroad for several months and return back to Japan. Many students do it.

I know it's rushed. I just wanted to get this chapter over with. I'll try to make the next one better. I know I say that all the time, but this time I'll actually attempt it.


End file.
